Nantong development area holds economic work conference

The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area (NETDA) held a conference to summarize economic and social development in the first six months and arrange for the second half, on July 30, with Qu Baoxian, the Party secretary addressing the gathering, the NETDA has reported.

The area, in Nantong, Jiangsu province, had a GDP of 19.6 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) in the first half, for an increase of 12.2 percent, with industrial companies with an annual income of more than 20 million yuan, providing 70.9 billion yuan, a 15.1-percent increase year-on-year, and added value worth 18.9 billion yuan, up 12.7 percent. Area sales increased 3.1 percent to 32.5 billion yuan and fixed asset investment, 14.8 billion yuan, or 26.4 percent growth over last year.

Qu explained that the area is working hard toward four goals in the second half to get sales to increase 10 percent, public budget revenues up 20 percent, fixed asset investment up 20 percent, and foreign investment above $400 million.

Meanwhile, this area will increase work on major projects and hopes to get more than 16 billion yuan in industrial investment for new growth.

Qu said priority will be given to emerging and new high-tech industries, including marine engineering, precision machinery, new energy, and new pharmaceuticals and will speed up work on modern services, such as R&D, design, modern logistics, financing, marketing, service outsourcing, e-business and fourth party logistics.

The area will also push innovation to try to make breakthrough in core technology and build public technology service sites. It will have a "3-year action plan on environmental protection" to try to make eco-progress and for better environmental control.

Edited by Zhao Qian and Roger Bradshaw