Special Supplement: KSND: Rising star in the Yangtze River Delta

The city of Kunshan lies between Shanghai and Suzhou in the Yangtze River Delta.

It boasts a convenient transportation network, which includes the Shanghai-Nanjing, Suzhou-Kunshan-Shanghai and Suzhou-Kunshan-Taicang highways, as well as the Suzhou Surrounding and Tongjiang-Sanya highways, National Highway 312, the Airport Expressway and the Shanghai-Nanjing railway.

The city light rail and Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway under construction now will further integrate the city with Shanghai.

Kunshan is a people-oriented city that welcomes friends from across the nation and overseas with open arms. Its vigorous pace of development has led to numerous brilliant achievements. It was named one of the "Most Charming Cities in China 2004" and topped the list of China's Top 100 Counties (County-level Cities) in 2005 and 2006.

A rising industrial and commercial city, Kunshan is always associated with openness, integration, innovation and excellence.

If Kunshan were a crown, then Yushan Town, the city gate, would certainly be its most brightly shining diamond. The town of Yushan was ranked first among China's top 1,000 towns in 2006 in terms of comprehensive strength.

The Kunshan New & Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone (KSND) -- the city's successful industrial zone and Yushan's most vibrant carrier of investments -- has constructed comprehensive infrastructure of an international standard.

KSND overview

The zone has attracted nearly 600 enterprises from all over the world. International investment in the zone amounts to $4 billion, around 35 percent of which comes from Europe, the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The over-6,400 domestic projects have brought in about 13 billion yuan ($1.72 billion) in investments, accounting for one-third of total investment in Kunshan.

Industrial giant Foxconn Technology Group has invested $1.45 billion there, extending its production line from manufacturing socket components to consumer and vehicle electronic products.

One of the world's leading elevator and escalator companies, Kone has established its production base in KSND. It is supplying all elevators for the National Stadium in Beijing where the 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony will be held.

Voith AG, one of Europe's top enterprises, has established its Asian headquarters in the zone. It is among a growing number of world-renowned companies that have become members of the KSND family.

KSND is divided into three sectors according to industrial positioning: Section A is for technical research and development as well as commercial services, Section B is the core area for hi-tech industrial development, while Section C houses small and medium -sized enterprises.

The zone has focused on manufacturing and modern services as the pillars of its development, covering the six major sectors of auto electronics, solar power, OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), new materials, precision machinery and molds and service industry, and aims to attract the world's leading enterprises.

KSND has also established a tech-park for private enterprises, a State-level mold test base and a State-level hi-tech business incubation and service center, the Tsinghua Science Park, a grand economic and trade zone, a commercial and trade logistics park, an American industrial village and a modern business service park.

Advanced infrastructure and facilities have made KSND one of China's rising investment destinations, with the biggest proportion of hi-tech industries and the highest level of intensive development, as well as the most successful innovations.

KSND encourages innovation, a policy that has achieved good results. In 2006, expenditure on research and development accounted for 2.5 percent of its GDP (gross domestic product). Of the 762 patent applications received last year, 558 were authorized, accounting for 11.5 percent of the total patents authorized in Suzhou area.

Ten national-level key new products and 52 provincial-level hi-tech products are produced in the zone. Enterprises there have been implementing 105 hi-tech projects, including 13 under the provincial Torch Program, two under the national 863 Program and one project of the National Innovation Fund.

New industry layout

Emphasizing industrial concentration, KSND has integrated complete industrial chains and combined robust development with a harmonious co-existence of industries. KSND has taken the lead in China to build four specialty industrial bases:

Renewable energy industrial base - Renewable energy industries like solar and wind energy were introduced to build the China Renewable Energy Research and Development Center and theme park, an industrial base with an annual production capacity of 2,000 megawatt. More than a dozen enterprises, including Motech Industries Inc, the world's seventh largest solar cell producer, and GSM (General Silicon Material) Group, have launched their production chains there.

OLED screen industrial base - KSND has cooperated with Tsinghua University to support projects under the National 863 Program. China's first commercialized OLED screen production line was launched there.

Compound Semiconductor Industrial base - The design, R&D, testing and manufacturing of semiconductors like gallium arsenide (GaAs) are developed there to form a complete industrial chain. Anadigics Inc has broken ground for the construction of a new state-of-the-art 6-inch GaAs integrated circuit (IC) wafer fabrication facility there.

Robot technology base - KSND aims to build a national base for the robot industry. The base focuses on R&D as well as manufacturing of industrial, educational and service robots. The robots produced in KSND have amazed the nation with their advanced technology.

Mission and vision

KSND's pursuit of an industrial civilization is not limited to a mere assembly of industries, but goes beyond to seek a harmonious balance between industry and nature.

Kunshan is a great investment destination, but it is also a paradise on earth for residents, while Yushan attracts the world's attention and carries the hopes of Kunshan.

Life there is affluent and peaceful. There, you will find the ancient charms of a traditional town co-existing with a passionate and lively modern city -- one that is keen on communicating with the world and creating a bright future.

KSND -- driving your business forward!

(Shanghai Start 09/07/2007 page2)