The survey conducted by Shanghai Statistics Bureau among 1000 urban households shows that in the first half of this year the personal disposable income (PDI) rose to 10,704 Yuan, up 10.9 percent over the same period of last year.

Experts think the growth of PDI is closely related with the development of economy as the GDP in the first half of this year in Shanghai increased by 12.6 percent from the same period of last year.

The statistics show the PDI of six urban households from 36 big cities nationwide is more than 10,000 Yuan and Shenzhen ranks the first with a PDI reaching 17,422 Yuan, followed by Ningbo (10,717 Yuan) and Shanghai (10,704) Yuan.

Experts analyze with the growth of income that the expenditure of urban residents has also increased. In the first half of 2006, the per capita expenditure jumped to 7,237 Yuan, up 9.3 percent over last year or 4.4 percentage points.

By People's Daily Online