(Yicai Global) July 25 -- Revenue from State Post Bureau's courier business jumped 16.9 percent in the first half from a year earlier as the volume of deliveries rose on the back of growing cross-border e-commerce and more efficient customs clearance.

The national postal agency had revenue of CNY33.9 billion (USD4.9 billion) from its express delivery services to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the rest of the world, according to figures released today. Volumes climbed 21 percent to 630 million parcels.

In the mainland, income at the courier business jumped 18.3 percent to CNY213.8 billion on a 26 percent gain in volume to 27.1 billion. The number of packages shipped in June alone exceeded 5.4 billion, a yearly increase of about 30 percent.

Deliveries in the country's central regions surged 32 percent. That was 6.3 percentage points higher than the average for the rest of the country thanks to the integration of warehousing and delivery services and the spread of e-commerce in second- and third-tier cities, among other factors, the bureau said.