The fiscal income of Tibet Autonomous Region hit 1.06 billion yuan (US$133 million) in the first six months of 2007, an increase of 26.7 percent year-on-year, according to sources with the region's statistics bureau.

An official with the bureau said that investment, consumption and export trade, the major driving forces for economic development of Tibet, have kept growing, with consumption being the fastest.

The total retail sales of consumer goods hit 5.19 billion yuan (US$649 million), up 26.6 percent.

More than 8.25 billion yuan (US$103 million) was put in fixed assets investment in the first half year, up 19.5 percent. The investment went mainly to rural and pasturing areas and speciality industries.

The region's overall imports and exports reached US$164 million in the January-June period, up 60.4 percent from the same period of 2006