Hainan's Yangpu Still Attractive to InvestorsThere's plenty of proof that investors still regard the Yangpu Economic Development Zone on the Chinese island province of Hainan an ideal destination for their cash.Some 1,100 domestic and overseas investors gathered in the zone in the northwestern coast of Hainan for a two-day economic cooperation and entrepreneurs' fair in late June. Participants held active discussions with local administrative officials and other government departments about the detailed procedures regarding zone investment. The development zone is located inside the 150-sq-km Yangpu Peninsula on the northwestern coast of Hainan and covers an area of 30 sq km. The zone is about 140 kilometers away from Haikou, capital of China's southernmost province and largest special economic zone. The peninsula has a 110-kilometer coastline and is known as an excellent natural port, with its calm, silt-free water. It is suitable for building 26 deep-water berths each of which can accommodate ships with at least 10,000 dead weight tonnage(dwt). Located in the central belt of the Asian and Pacific Economic Rim and the center of the international sea-lane, the peninsula can be developed into a key international cargo collection and distribution center. Yangpu Peninsula is endowed with rich natural resources. A survey shows that the sea areas in its southern and western parts abound in natural gas and oil, and the peninsula itself has plentiful salt and titanium deposits. In addition, deposits of coal, oil shale, high-quality quartzite and limestone have been found in areas near Yangpu. Yangpu Economic Development Zone, founded in 1992, was originally planned to be built into an export-oriented industrial district emphasizing advanced technology and the development of tertiary industry. The district is a bonded area and various preferential policies are introduced for foreign businessmen. But now it has faded from the limelight, as the plan to attract multinationals to invest in the zone was dashed following the Asian financial crisis. Since the beginning of this year, leaders from the Administration for Yangpu Economic Development Zone and the Yangpu Land Development Co. Ltd. have stepped up efforts to promote Yangpu. In addition to hosting investment promotion fairs in Haikou, Wenzhou and Shanghai in the first half of the year, Yangpu will also sponsor similar fairs in Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and the United States in the later half of the year, said Zhu Xiancheng, head of the administration for zone. Those efforts have started to pay off. A great number of new projects have been approved for the zone this year and will soon start construction, according to Zhu. Zhu suggested investors spend more on projects that use local resources as raw materials in processing, or projects that rely on imported raw materials but produce commodities for overseas market. They might also consider starting up trading companies by taking advantage of the preferential policies Yangpu enjoys as a bonded area and Yangpu's location near Vietnam. |
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