The register process for companies are under way despite the fact that inauguration of the China (Fujian) Free Trade Zone is delayed. The service center in the FTZ's Fuzhou section is busy with consultation with potential investors that are interested in starting businesses in the zone. It has set up a number of offices to handle the register procedures for companies, the Fuzhou Evening News reported on Feb 28.

So far, up to 70 enterprises have applied to operate in the the Fuzhou section of the FTZ, and a number of banks including the Fujian Haixia Bank planned to open branches in the zone in a bid to provide financial services for "going-out" enterprises, a term used in reference to Chinese enterprises that open subsidiaries in third countries.

The FTZ will further promote local economic development as well as bilateral trade between China and other countries, said Giovanni Esposito, the CEO of Belgium's Reibel Group, who recently visited the FTZ.

He also added that not only would the zone help open up the global market to Chinese enterprises, but also introduce more foreign ventures to China; and Fuzhou, as an important harbor, would surely benefit from the zone.

Authorities in Fujian province on Feb 26 decided to postpone the inauguration date for the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone originally set for Feb 27, with the postponement applying to all three sections of the FTZ in Fuzhou, Pingtan and Xiamen. Speculation is such that the inauguration could take place in the second half of March after the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference are held.

Edited by Mevlut Katik