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Trade fair nets deals in Taicang

By Pan Zhongming (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-02 08:42

Taicang, a State-level city of Jiangsu province, has become an attractive destination to foreign investors.

Twenty-nine agreements with a total investment of 7.2 billion yuan ($1.05 billion) were signed at Taicang's annual economic and trade fair this year.

Of the 29 project agreements signed at the fair in late October, 18 are foreign-invested projects with a total investment of $686 million and registered capital of $283 million. Registered foreign investments totaled $235 million.

The 11 domestically funded projects represented a total investment of 2.515 billion yuan with a registered capital of 858 million yuan.

The projects covered equipment manufacturing, precise machinery, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and trade and real estate.

Compared to previous fairs, project agreements signed at this year's fair are for more scientific and technical work. The proportion of foreign investments in tertiary industries is high, according to Pu Ronggao, Party secretary of the city.

The fair is one of the major measures taken by the government of Taicang to promote the city to foreign investors, market the city's industrial advantages and expand Taicang's influence.

It also included a dialogue on cross-Straits port logistics and manufacturing partnerships.

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During the past three years, Taicang channeled an accumulation of more than 6 billion yuan to its port infrastructure. It has built 48 berths at various water levels, and opened more than 70 domestic and foreign routes to establish economic ties with more than 140 countries and regions.

In the first three-quarters of the year, the port realized a total throughput of 35.5 million tons and 1.08 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) - up 25.8 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, compared with the corresponding period last year.

To date, Taicang has attracted 20 large corporations directly under the central government with an accumulated investment of 28.3 billion yuan.

The companies primarily form four blocks of investments: petroleum and chemical industries, power and energy, high-grade paper making and warehouse logistics.

The city has built itself into one of the larger production bases in China. It is also the largest PVC (polyvinylchloride) production base in Jiangsu and the top electric power and energy base in East China.