The Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Area (HEDA) is a magnet for well-known global companies.
Situated in Hangzhou, the capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, the zone covers an area of 104.7 square kilometres and has a population of 200,000.
Since its foundation in April 1993, the zone's authorities have spared no efforts to create an excellent investment environment by providing quality services.
To date, 406 foreign-funded companies from 30 countries and regions have settled in the development zone.
Among them, 24 companies from the Fortune 500 have set up 38 investment projects there, significantly boosting the zone's image.
Statistics indicate that, to date, accumulative actual foreign investment has reached US$4.2 billion.
The zone has been at the forefront of local economic development, with the region's gross domestic product rising to 17 billion yuan (US$2.13 billion) last year.
Chinese manufacturers also favour the development zone for its excellent environment. A total of 266 Chinese-invested manufacturing companies contributed 16.62 billion yuan (US$2.1billion) of investments.
The Hangzhou Development Zone was ranked 10th in terms of comprehensive competitiveness in a nationwide State-level development zone assessment launched by the Ministry of Commerce in 2004.
In the same year, the Japan External Trade Organization also rated it as one of the best Chinese development zones.
Manufacturing park
At present, the development zone comprises an export-oriented manufacturing park and a higher-learning park, representing the zone's two major sectors.
The manufacturing park has four pillar industries: electronic information, biological medicine, machinery and household appliances, and food and beverages.
As one of the largest production bases for mobile telecommunications equipment in China, the park has attracted a number of multinationals and locally based corporations in the industry, such as Motorola, Eastcom and Foxconn.
Japanese heavyweight electronics makers, including Mitsubishi, Toshiba and Matsushita, have shifted many of their operations to the manufacturing park.
While Toshiba set up a global production base with an expected annual output of 2.4 million laptops, Matsushita invested US$240 million in its largest production base for home electrical appliances in China. Covering 240,000 square metres, it began operation in 2005.
In addition, a host of medical apparatus and pharmaceutical producers, including Hangzhou Jiuyuan Gene Engineering Co Ltd, Japan-based Terumo Co, and US-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc, have founded their plants and research and development centres there.
Their presence has made the development zone a key pharmaceutical industry base in the province.
The development zone is also the largest beverage production base in the province, attracting well-known beverage companies such as Coca-Cola Co, Master Kong Group Co Ltd, and Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co Ltd.
Driven by these operations, the zone has become a strong economic engine of the city as well as the province.
Official statistics show that the zone's gross industrial output value jumped to 72 billion yuan (US$9 billion) and foreign trade volume stood at US$3.9 billion last year.
Higher-learning base
To offer strong technical support and train high-quality professionals for businesses, the zone's authorities began to construct a higher-learning park in 2001, the largest in the province.
After five years of construction, the park has accumulated rich educational resources.
So far, 15 colleges and universities, including China Jiliang University, and Zhejiang Science and Technology University, are in the park with an estimated enrolment of 120,000 students.
Students at the schools are able to be more easily involved in research and training programmes offered by many companies, and after graduation have greater employment opportunities.
Companies also have easier access to qualified graduates trained by the institutes, making it possible for them to improve their research and development capacities.
Presently, preferential policies are in the pipeline to support the development of the education sector. The authorities plan to establish a science and technology park for the universities, a starting-career park for students with overseas academic experience, and an innovation base for high-tech companies.
New town
As the eastern region of Hangzhou, where the development zone is located, develops into a new and modern town, the zone at the hub of the region has made impressive progress in urbanization.
The zone's authorities are stepping up efforts to build a central administrative and business park in an area of 8 square kilometres.
Major infrastructure facilities, including an expressway and a rail transportation network, are also under construction.
Construction of large shopping facilities and a cultural square is also on the agenda.
With the Qiantang River flowing through the region, authorities plan to build a wetland park and an environmentally friendly housing project for 150,000 residents.
(China Daily 06/08/2006 page11)
