SHANGHAI’S economy grew by a better-than-expected 6.9 percent annually to 1.39 trillion yuan (US$205.6 billion) in the first half as the industrial sector expanded to offset weaker real estate activities, Shanghai Statistics Bureau said yesterday.

The pace was 0.2 percentage point faster than the same period of last year and the same as the national average.

“Shanghai’s economic conditions in the first half were generally stable and better than expected,” said Tang Huihao, deputy director of the bureau, at a briefing. “The stable trend is lasting (and) the progress is deepening.”