TIANJIN, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA), a major economic development zone in the port city of Tianjin, has attracted more than 100 of the World Top 500 companies, local authorities said Tuesday.

So far, 106 companies from the World Top 500, mainly from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, have registered their branches here with 256 investment items, said an official with commercial commission of the TBNA.

The U.K.-based Unilever, France-based Total, and Germany-based ThyssenKrupp Elevator, are among the companies that established branches this year, said the official.

By November, the export and import trade value of TBNA surged 27.87 percent year-on-year to 57.2 billion U.S. dollars, he said.