Nansha shines as beacon of global investment

With new projects pouring in, Nansha district in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, is gaining speed in its endeavor to grow into a prime destination for investment worldwide.

The district signed contracts for three more massive projects on Wednesday during the 2022 Global Investment Promotion Conference for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

For the first time, the government of Guangdong province joined hands with the governments of Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions for an investment promotion targeting global investors. Held in a hybrid format, the on-site conference took place in the district of Nansha.

Among the 48 projects that organizers handpicked and held an on-site signing ceremony for, Nansha's three involve an investment of more than 5 billion yuan ($714.29 million).

They comprise a research and development and production base for thermal components of gas turbines, funded by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Dongfang Gas Turbine (Guangzhou); a diversified project ranging from health, science and technology, to culture and tourism, with investment from MC Star Health Technology (Guangzhou);and a pharmaceutical fund project co-launched by Walgreens Boots Alliance and Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited, both of which are among the world's top 500 companies, with the fund marking the first in China that Walgreens Boots Alliance has been involved in.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Dongfang Gas Turbine (Guangzhou) is a joint venture between MHI, a Fortune Global top 500 company, and Dongfang Turbine, one of the three major power generation manufacturing groups in China.

The one funded by MC Star Health Technology (Guangzhou) marked the first Macao-funded project Nansha secured after the Overall Plan for Promoting Comprehensive Cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao by Further Deepening Opening-up in Nansha District of Guangzhou was officially released by the State Council on June 14.

The project is estimated to entail a capital input of more than 3.5 billion yuan. The first phase of the project aims to attract more than 60 companies in information technology, new materials and data application industries and another 50 biomedical and trauma rehabilitation enterprises. The second phase will include construction of a cultural and tourism business complex, probably including a high-end ecological hotel, a shopping mall, an international football training base, an international school, and an esports event center.

Henry Wu, president of MC Star Health Technology (Guangzhou), said he was very happy and lucky that his company has settled down in Nansha.

He attributed his decision to invest in the district to its talent pool, convenient transportation and advantageous policies.

"Nansha's talent policy is perfect. In particular, it has a very complete service system that encourages Hong Kong and Macao youth to come to the district to innovate and start businesses," he said. "In recent years, many high-end talents have been attracted to Nansha to start business, and this is very beneficial for a high-tech enterprise."

Located in the geometrical center of the Bay Area, Nansha has advanced transportation facilities to connect with other mainland cities as well as Hong Kong and Macao, he said.

Meanwhile, Nansha is competitive in both industrial development policies and tax incentives.

"Thanks to the overall plan, qualified enterprises are allowed to enjoy a corporate income tax rate of 15 percent, which is a great incentive for our Hong Kong and Macao enterprises," he said.

Wang Jian, head of the investment promotion bureau of Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone, said the organizers' decision to locate the inaugural promotion event in Nansha spoke for their positive attitude toward Nansha's development vitality.

The June plan has brought more opportunities to the market entities and caught the eyes of more and more leading market players worldwide; and the district has become unprecedentedly popular among global businesses ever since, according to the official.

Prior to this, Nansha reaped a bumper harvest during the Guangzhou Annual Investment Conference China on Aug 30, when it ushered in 73 new projects involving a total investment of nearly 140 billion yuan.

The projects that are mainly involved in chip manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, new energy, automobile manufacturing, high-end equipment, marine science and technology and related new and high-tech industries are estimated to be able to generate an annual industrial output value of 283.6 billion yuan when they start production and operation in the coming years.

Official statistics revealed that Nansha has attracted a total of 239 investment projects from the world's top 500 companies so far.

Apart from the State's preferential tax policies exclusive to Nansha and the customs' supporting measures, the district government has prepared a policy system integrating innovation, industry, capital and talent, which is further supplemented with specific incentives, for example, those for the headquarters' economy, unicorn enterprises, chip businesses, airspace and aviation industry, youth talent and talent from Hong Kong and Macao, said the official.

"We are going all out for the world's first-class business environment and for turning Nansha into a preferred destination for businesses globally," noted Wang.

Nansha has spent nearly 15 billion yuan supporting and encouraging the development of local enterprises and talents. In the coming five years, Nansha plans to invest more than 20 billion yuan to support local companies' expansion and attract more talents to Nansha, he said.

Located at the estuary of the Pearl River, the district, with its advantageous location and competitive supply chain advantages, has been a hot spot for investment from home and abroad after it was qualified to be a State-level new area in 2012.

Modern industrial systems consisting of the advanced manufacturing of automobiles, shipbuilding, airspace and aviation, emerging industries of AI, biomedicine, metaverse and hydrogen energy, as well as the modern service industry, have taken shape; and the district is aiming at industrial clusters capable of an annual industrial output value of 2 trillion yuan by the year 2025.