The total revenue of businesses in the software industry in Ningbo stood at 44.19 billion yuan ($6.59 billion) from January to July, a yearly uptick of 22.1 percent, according to local authorities.

The information security, information technology service and e-commerce sectors posted growth of more than 30 percent, while the industrial software sector climbed 24.6 percent.

An official at the software department of the Ningbo municipal bureau of economy and informatization pointed out that the development of the software and information service industry is crucial for Ningbo, which is striving to develop a robust digital economy.

According to a plan released by local government, the city will ramp up efforts to promote the development of industrial software and information services and deepen the application of software in characteristic industries.

By 2020, Ningbo hopes to lift the revenue of its software sector to 100 billion yuan.

A number of high-profile companies in the sector have set up branches in the city, including HollySys, MEGVII and Bytedance.

Starting this year, the city's high-tech district will allocate a fund of 500 million yuan every year to support the development of the software industry.

It will also issue a plan to attract elite professionals in the software industry, and qualified teams will be awarded up to 10 million yuan.