The added value of core digital economy industries in Ningbo stands at 10.28 billion yuan from January to April, edging up 0.6 percent year on year. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Core sectors in the digital economy are among the first in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province to witness positive growth amid the epidemic thanks to the central government's call to develop high-tech infrastructure like 5G to further stimulate consumption and boost industrial upgrading.

The added value of core digital economy industries in Ningbo reached 10.28 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) from January to April, edging up 0.6 percent year on year, eight percentage points faster than the first quarter, official data show.

Software information service, integrated circuit and optical electronics industries sustained robust growth momentum in the first four months, registering increases of 4.4 percent, 15.3 percent and 21 percent respectively.

Preliminary statistics show that a third of the city's 949 digital economy enterprises have restored production capacity.

It is estimated that the output value of core digital economy industries in Ningbo will exceed 100 billion yuan in the first half of this year.

Wu Chunyue, deputy general manager of Forehope Electronic (Ningbo) Co Ltd, revealed that the company's output value in the first quarter had reached 130 million yuan, a rise of 184 percent year-on-year. 

With a new plant to be put into use in July, the company's production area will surpass 50,000 square meters, and its annual capacity is expected to rank among the top five in the nation.

Forehope is not alone. Numerous enterprises in the digital sector from Ningbo are witnessing rapid growth.

For instance, shipments of Sunny Optical Technology (Group) Co Ltd's three major products, namely mobile lenses, vehicle-mounted lenses and camera modules, increased by 37.1 percent, 14.8 percent and 42.9 percent year-on-year respectively from January to March.