The added value of high-tech industries in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province hit 233.73 billion yuan ($35,96 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, official data show.

During the nine-month period, the city's technology transaction volume reached 28.07 billion yuan, up 26.7 percent year-on-year.

As of the end of September, the number of valid invention patents in the city amounted to 45,237, an uptick of 24.2 percent year-on-year.

A report released earlier this year placed Ningbo fifteenth nationwide in terms of innovation capability. The city is now considered an innovation hub for new materials, industrial internet and key basic component industries.

Ningbo is expected to see an increase of over 1,500 high-tech enterprises this year, the most in Zhejiang. This increase can be partly attributed to favorable policies rolled out by authorities to spur innovation among companies.

As of June, about 10,000 companies from the city had been exempt from tax worth 19.18 billion yuan due to related preferential policies, up 51.4 percent year-on-year, official data show.