Business continues to boom in central province

To maintain the sustainable development of the economy and society, Hunan province has further facilitated high-level opening-up in recent years by luring more investments and boosting cooperation, local officials said.

The province is an investment destination for more than one-third of Fortune Global 500 companies from more than 200 countries and regions, ranking first in Central China. The foreign investments in Hunan mainly concentrate on the secondary and tertiary industries such as manufacturing, service, architecture and high-tech businesses.

In 2018, the total contractual amount of foreign investment in Hunan surged 177.6 percent year-on-year. The foreign investment actually utilized in the province amounted to $16.19 billion, up 11.9 percent year-on-year.

Statistics from the Department of Commerce of Hunan province show that in the first quarter of this year, the business investment actually in place recorded 198.5 billion yuan ($27.76 billion), up 17.2 percent year-on-year. The province has set up 74 new foreign enterprises, up 57.5 percent year-on-year and attracted 30 big projects with the amount of each reaching more than 200 million yuan.

This year, Hunan held a series of global events including the 2019 Changsha International Construction Equipment Exhibition in May, a gathering of the world's leading construction machinery companies and the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in June attended by 53 African countries and more than 10 international institutes.

A total of 81 cooperative agreements were signed during the trade expo and the total business volume amounted to more than $20 billion.

Enterprises in Hunan will further expand cooperation with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

In the first half of this year, Hunan's combined amount of new contracts of overseas construction projects and foreign labor cooperation reached $5.4 billion. Over half of the foreign construction projects' contract value, $870 million, was completed in the countries and regions involved in the BRI.

During the same period, 31 of 43 new overseas businesses funded by Hunan companies were set up in BRI-involved countries. Their combined investments worth $496 million accounted for more than 90 percent of the total investment value, according to commerce department statistics.

By the end of June, the number of overseas enterprises involving investments from Hunan reached 1,570. Their contract investment value had surpassed $23.38 billion, covering 93 countries and regions around the globe.

Strategic zones

As a transition zone between China's eastern coastal and western areas, Hunan province is a key point along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The geographic advantages have helped create a business-friendly environment for the province and brought in assets, technologies and professionals from the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta.

Changsha, capital of Hunan province, has established direct high-speed trains linking to Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai as well as 12 provincial capitals since 2009 when the Wuhan-Guangzhou line began operation along the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway.

Hunan is home to four strategic development zones: a planned zone for the development and poverty alleviation in the Wuling Mountains area, a demonstration zone for industrial transfer in southern and western Hunan, an economic and ecological zone around the Dongting Lake area and the Xiangjiang River area.

The planned zone in the Wuling Mountains area consists of old revolutionary base areas, places for ethnic groups and poverty-stricken villages.

The local government will build the zone into a demonstration area for poverty relief, cultural tourism and environmental protection. The demonstration zone for industrial transfer is expected to be a pilot area for opening-up and cooperation as a key national center for advanced manufacturing.

The southern Hunan plays a vital role in promoting the industrial transfer and economic cooperation between central and western China and eastern costal regions, especially the Pearl River Delta region.

The economic and ecological zone around the Dongting Lake area consists of cities including Yueyang, Changde, Yiyang in Hunan and Jingzhou in Hubei province. The area is rich in mineral resources such as rock phosphate and oulopholite.

In April 2015, the Xiangjiang New Area was approved by the State Council to become a national-level economic and development zone, the first State-level new area in Central China. The area covers three national industrial parks in Changsha and Ningxiang.

Italian Stefano Bottiglieri started his career at the Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone as CEO of an aircraft manufacturer in 2014. "The local government has created a very good business environment in Changsha and helps us a lot in handling administrative registration and other procedures," Bottiglieri said. "The infrastructure is advanced here such as the high-speed railway and airport, and it is very convenient for us to do business."

The Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone ranks No 8 for its business environment among national-level economic and development zones in China, according to a report by a Chinese research center.

Changsha ranks second for soft power and ninth for business environment among 35 cities across the nation, according to a report by the Academy of Greater Bay Area Studies. The efforts made by the province's Hengyang and Ningxiang cities in optimizing the business environment have been praised by the State Council.

This year, Hunan will launch a series of activities and build innovative pilot areas aimed at creating a first-class business environment for enterprises. The province intends to simplify administrative procedures, improve government efficiency, regulate supervision and offer the best services.