SHANGHAI, which identifies the growth of e-commerce as vital to drive the city as a global trading center, expects to double sales of e-commerce to 1.2 trillion yuan (US$190.4 billion) by 2015, the Shanghai Commission of Commerce said yesterday.

The city's e-commerce sales rose 16-folds to 425.3 billion yuan last year from that in 2002. In the first half of this year, sales increased 24.8 percent from the same period a year ago to 249.5 billion yuan.

"The Shanghai government pays close attention to the growth of e-commerce," said Sha Hailin, the commission's chairman. "It is an industry of the future and it also triggers reforms in many other industries."

Sha said e-commerce, referring to business conducted online, has become an important component to help Shanghai become a global trading center.

Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce recognized Shanghai as a model city in the nation for developing e-commerce.

Twelve companies, including the Shanghai branch of eBay Inc and International Payment Solutions Ltd, were yesterday acknowledged as the city's model e-commerce firms.

Sha said the government plans to build up 30 big e-commerce firms with over 100 million yuan in annual sales by 2015.