(Yicai) April 17 -- China Commodities City Group, the operator of the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities, has increased the rent of shops in the country's production hub of small commodities Yiwu for the first time in almost 12 years at the end of last year.

Store leases jumped on average 5.5 percent at the end of 2023, with another 5 percent jump to follow over the next three years, China Commodities City, which is managed by the state-owned assets supervision and administration commission of Yiwu, said in an annual earnings report released yesterday.

Yiwu International Trade City, the main wholesale market complex in the city, has been more prosperous in the first three months of the year compared with 2013 and 2019, China Commodities City added in its first-quarter financial report issued on the same day.

As a major operator in the Yiwu market, China Commodities City owns various commercial entities, including Yiwu International Trade City and Yiwu Binwang Market, and has up to 75,000 operating stores.

Net profit surged 142 percent to CNY2.7 billion (USD373 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier, China Commodities City annual report showed. Its revenue rose 48 percent to CNY11.3 billion (USD1.6 billion).

China Commodities City earned CNY3.1 billion from marketplace operations last year, second only to an income of CNY6.8 billion from commodities sales, its data showed. However, the former had a gross margin of 72 percent, while the latter had a GM of 0.5 percent, meaning that shop leases are the company's main profit source.

The average number of daily visitors at Yiwu International Trade City was over 210,000 in the three months ended March 31, more than in 2019 and 2023, according to the quarterly report. It saw an average of 3,523 foreign merchants a day, up 160 percent from a year ago, and an average of 99,514 cars a day, up 6.8 percent.

Global political and grand sports events this year will bring new opportunities to Yiwu markets, China Commodities City noted. With upcoming elections in over 80 countries and regions, the UEFA European Football Championship, and the Paris Olympics, demand for foreign trade orders has surged from some areas, improving merchants' confidence in the city.

Shares of China Commodities City [SHA: 600415] ended up 0.6 percent at CNY8.46 (USD1.17) apiece today. The Shanghai Composite Index finished 2.1 percent higher.

Editor: Martin Kadiev