Chengdu Special: Chengdu proves new boomtown for investors

Neither the global financial crisis nor the horrors of the May 2008 earthquake seem to have deterred some of the world's largest companies from investing heavily in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Alibaba.com, the world's largest B2B website, has been at the forefront of investors looking to back the city. On June 29, the Hong Kong-listed company signed a contract with the Chengdu Hi-tech Development Zone to establish its west China base in Chengdu, a facility representing a total investment of $100 million - making it the largest Internet-related project ever to be launched in Sichuan.

Ma Yun, chairman and CEO of Alibaba, said his company had identified three priorities when it came to looking for its new premises.