HK capital sought to drive mainland industry

In the next few years, Hong Kong and Zhanjiang plan to build closer trade ties based on the complementary geographical advantages of both cities.

Located on the Leizhou Peninsula, Zhanjiang forms a hub for the provinces of Guangdong and Hainan as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which is served by the Pearl River Delta economic hinterland.

The city has 2,023.6 kilometers of coastline, its cargo throughput totaled 171 million tons last year, and it hosts a 300,000- ton dock for crude oil as well as a 250,000ton dock for iron ore. The city is also well connected thanks to its extensive network of airports and railways.

Home to nearly 8 million people, Zhanjiang is rich in human resources and equally blessed with natural resources, such as oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea and various mineral resources.

According to the Zhanjiang Economic and Social Development Report 2012, Zhanjiang’s GDP grew 10 percent year-on-year to 190 billion yuan ($31.1 billion) in 2011.

Of the total GDP, the agricultural sector contributed 20.3 percent; the industrial sector, 42.2 percent, and services, 37.5 percent.

The primary light industries in Zhanjiang include food and beverages, plastic products, furniture and textiles, while the major heavy industries in the city consist of oil-refining, electrical power, machinery, chemicals, petrochemicals, metallurgy and paper-making.

According to the statistics of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, trade between the two cities totaled $ 4.4 billion in 2011, including an export value $ 2.1 billion and import value of $ 2.3 billion. Major exports include fish products, mechanical and electronic products, and furniture.

The Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone, located in Zhanjiang on the eastern coast of Leizhou Peninsula with an area of 19.2 square kilometers, was approved as a State-level development zone in 1984.

According to the statistics of the Hong Kong trade council, the industrial added value from heavy industries rose 11.9 percent year-onyear to 40.12 billion yuan in 2011, comprising more than two thirds of the total industrial added value in Zhanjiang.

It is well known that Hong Kong’s economy is highly export orientated and the city is utilizing its strength in capital market and financial services provision to serve the mainland enterprises.

According to the Hong Kong trade council data, Zhanjiang attracted 25 foreign-invested projects in 2011. The utilized foreign direct investment in Zhanjiang skyrocketed to $53 million, up 44.9 percent from the previous year.

Guangdong province, home to Zhanjiang, is the largest destination for Hong Kong investments on the mainland. According to figures from the Hong Kong government, Hong Kong’s cumulative realized direct investment value in Guangdong at the end of 2012 was estimated at $184.7 billion, accounting for 61.8 percent of the total realized direct investment value registered in the province.

Despite its advantageous geographic location, the city also faces competition from other development zones in Guangdong and is occasionally hit by typhoons.