Wuxi opens up further to attract foreign investment

In a bid to boost the core competitiveness of the city, Wuxi authorities announced 10 new measures to improve its business environment and attract more overseas investment at a conference on Sept 8.

The measures include improving rewards for major foreign-funded projects, establishing a consultation mechanism for these projects, supporting the use of foreign capital in various forms, and creating and improving the incentives related to investment attraction. The city will also establish a "white list" of excellent foreign-invested enterprises.

According to the measures, the city will reward newly approved foreign investment projects encouraged by the government that have received at least $30 million in actual paid-in foreign investment with two percent of the actual paid-in foreign investment amount, with a 50 million yuan ($7.3 million) ceiling.

The new measures also require efforts by companies to provide high-quality, full-time investment services. Policy support should be guaranteed, and related work should be done in collaboration and coordination with the government. Investors can also consult the specialist that the local government has designated for their projects at any time.

The Wuxi investment service cloud platform, which was unveiled during the conference, has been built to facilitate such services. According to the authorities, the platform will  concentrate the city's efforts to attract investment and help solve difficulties related to the development of foreign-invested enterprises. The platform will also allow complaints to be handled more efficiently due to the utilization of big data and intelligent technology.

On the same day, Wuxi signed strategic cooperation agreements with five of the world's leading consulting institutions, hoping to use their influence to attract more high-tech projects with large investments and promising development prospects.

The conference also featured a signing ceremony for 79 modern service projects with a total investment of 65 billion yuan. These projects cover new business formats including digital technology, smart logistics, smart information, high-quality culture and creation, high-end leisure and elderly care, modern business, and financial services.

Among these projects are the Wuxi flagship store of Fortune 500 company WalMart, a cultural tourism transportation headquarters project in Liangxi district by CRRC Urban Traffic Co Ltd, as well as live broadcast projects in the Wuxi National Digital Film Industrial Park, also called Wuxi Studios.