(Yicai Global) July 28 -- Gross domestic product in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city pioneering the nation's economic reform, grew 8.8 percent in the first half as it continued to outperform the national average, the city's semi-annual data showed.

The report credited a sharp increase in private investment as a key contributor to Shenzhen's strong economic growth.

It is a truly remarkable achievement, especially given the already substantial size of the city's GDP, said Zheng Yujie, head of the China Development Institute's information department. It is a manifestation of successful economic restructuring driven by a dynamic private sector.

The city's GDP rose to nearly USD143 billion in the first half, data from the city's statistics bureau showed. The growth rate was 0.2 percentage point higher than that recorded for the first quarter and last year. It outstripped the average for Guangdong province by one percentage point and the national average by 1.9 points.

Fixed-asset investment in the city totaled almost USD30.5 billion over the period, up 30.6 percent on the year, 6.3 percentage points faster than the first quarter and last year and 22 points quicker than the national average.

Private investment was another key factor at USD15.8 billion, up 23.5 percent on the year and outperforming national average growth by 16.3 percentage points. Private investments made up 51.9 percent of total fixed-asset investments.

"The last time Shenzhen posted such high growth in fixed-asset investment was in the mid-1990s," said Zheng, suggesting the slower growth period in between was due to the city's relatively small size and limited scope for fixed-asset development. However, the city has performed "pretty well over the past few years," he added.

Shenzhen carried out an extensive 'facelift' and rail transit construction projects over the past two years, Zheng said, and the overall industrial investment rose to a high level in the first half and both have contributed to the uptick in fixed-asset investment.

Emerging industries also grew rapidly, the data showed. Aerospace was the fastest-growing, with its output value rising 34.4 percent to CNY5.57 billion (USD825 million). The new energy market also saw a 26.9 percent increase to CNY28.7 billion.