(Yicai Global) Oct. 30 -- The robot industry, especially service robot businesses, in Shenzhen has developed rapidly in recent years.

The local robot market is estimated to top USD12.1 billion (CN80 billion) this year, said Bi Yalei, vice president and head of the industry cooperation and development department at Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and secretary-general of Shenzhen Robotics Association.

The output value of the city's robot industry has grown 24 percent each year on average recently, and hit CNY79 billion last year, Chinanews.com reported, citing Bi as saying.

Shenzhen was home to 469 robot companies by the end of last year, of whom over 330 were manufacturers with a combined output value of about CNY56.4 billion, and some 139 robot service providers with industrial output of CNY22.3 billion, per the city's industry development whitepaper.

The local government will introduce new incentives for smart manufacturing and robotics enterprises focusing on land allocation and employee housing support policies.