GUANGZHOU - South China's economic powerhouse Guangdong province recorded a 7.3-percent increase in its private sector's value-added output in 2018, suggesting "smooth and healthy growth" of the sector.

Guangdong's industry and information technology department said Monday the private sector, whose value-added output reached 5.26 trillion yuan ($781 billion) last year, accounted for 54.1 percent of the provincial GDP.

Briefing the annual session of the provincial legislative session, the department said that the output, number of businesses, and tax contributions of Guangdong's private sector top among Chinese provincial regions.

Private companies generated 65 percent of the province's new patents and over 80 percent of new products, creating over 80 percent of the total new jobs in the province, the department said.

It said private businesses had become an important driving force in Guangdong, whose GDP accounts for about one-tenth of China's total.

The province said it has been working to create more favorable policies for the private sector and address salient complaints, such as difficult access to loans.