Invitation to a ‘ brand new’ Zhanjiang
Growing business opportunities make city a great destination for HK investors
Zhanjiang, a city located at the southwestern tip of Guangdong province, brought 30 key investment projects worth up to 50 billion yuan ($8.16 billion) to Hong Kong to attract investor s for the Zhanjiang ( Hong Kong) Investment Promotion Conference on Thursday. Many of the projects have already been inked, said Zhanjiang Mayor Wang Zhongbing.
Zhanjiang, with a population of 8 million, is currently focusing its resources on the development of transportation infrastructure projects, the Industrial Transfer Park, as well as the Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Wang said he will introduce these and other related projects to Hong Kong investors.
“I hope that after this Investment Promotion Conference, more Hong Kong entrepreneurs will come to Zhanjiang to visit and learn more about our investment policy, our land price and labor price,” said Wang.
The mayor said Zhanjiang has always been a favorable investment destination for Hong Kong investors, as currently, a total of 116 Hong Kong companies have already established firms in Zhanjiang.
“But some Hong Kong investors have never been to Zhanjiang, or have not been to Zhanjiang for many years,” he said. “I want to introduce them to a brand new Zhanjiang with brand new business opportunities.”
Wang said modern industries are growing rapidly in the city, of which two key projects, the Baosteel Zhanjiang iron and steel-making plant and the $9 billion Sinopec/KPC Zhanjiang Refinery & Petrochemical Complex, are scheduled to be completed in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Both projects contain numerous investment opportunities.
Wang said many people don’t realize how close Zhanjiang is to Hong Kong, as the flight between the two cities takes only 50 minutes. By 2017, Hong Kong and Zhanjiang will be linked by a high-speed railway which is currently under construction.
Aside from industrial projects and opportunity, Zhanjiang is a coastal city where people enjoy blue sky, pristine sea and beaches as well as clean air, Hong Kong investors can also invest in the tourism industry, said the mayor.
He also said that Zhanjiang is rich in labor resources and labor costs in the city are low.
“The Zhanjiang government promise Hong Kong investors that we will provide efficient services,” said Wang, adding that Zhanjiang’s new Administrative Service Center has officially opened, where companies can enjoy one-stop services from government departments.
Chen Yuehua, deputy director of the department of foreign trade and economic cooperation of Guangdong province, told the conference that the economic and trade exchanges between Guangdong and Hong Kong have always been frequent.
Zhanjiang is undergoing a transformation from an agricultural city to an industrial city, said Chen, and he hopes that Hong Kong and Zhanjiang will strengthen their economic and trade cooperation in the future.
Charles Yeung, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, said the two parties should enhance cooperation and benefit from each other’s advantages. Companies in Zhanjiang should also utilize Hong Kong enterprises’ experiences and international connections so they can develop the overseas markets together, Yeung said.