Putuo district in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province saw a 38 percent investment increase in high-tech industries in the first 11 months of this year, local media reported on Dec 27.

During the same period, the added value of high-tech industries accounted for 26 percent of the total industrial added value in Putuo, while industrial companies above designated size invested 320 million yuan ($49.06 million) in research and development (R&D), a year-on-year increase of 6.1 percent.

At present, 112 companies above designated size in the district have established their own R&D institutions.

Putuo has cultivated one provincial-level enterprise technology center, 83 district-level enterprise R&D centers and attracted more than 600 scientific and technical professionals.

In June this year, the district launched a service center for its aquatic product deep-processing companies in order to offer them technology R&D and equipment upgrading services and encourage them to cooperate with research institutes and universities in product R&D.

The service center currently houses 11 service institutions, offering services related to inspection, detection, intellectual property, and the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements.

A senior staff member in Putuo said that by 2025, the R&D expenditure in the district is expected to account for more than 2 percent of its regional GDP, and scientific and technological progress will account for more than 65 percent of economic growth.