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Seeking to develop the overseas market
by Wei Zhihui ( China Daily )
Updated: 2008-04-16 07:30 The city of Qingdao is now implementing a "going global" strategy to encourage a number of eligible and competent local enterprises to set up production bases and sales and service networks outside China, and to develop industrial projects in areas ranging from mining and ore processing, to agriculture and forestry. "We expect our enterprises to go abroad to develop into multinational businesses," said Wu Jingjian, vice-mayor of Qingdao. Wu said the city government proposed a detailed development plan for going global in 2005, including the establishment of production bases for textiles and clothing, machinery, household electrical appliances, and the chemical and light industries. The government expects the strategy will help local enterprises improve their competitiveness in the international market. The government also encourages local farming enterprises to purchase or rent land in neighboring countries and Africa to set up farms, and develop agricultural production as well as agricultural products processing trade. Local enterprises are expected to cooperate with overseas partners on technology and production in resource-related sectors such as mining, lumbering, natural rubber production and deep-sea fishing. Local enterprises are also encouraged to construct industrial parks and foreign trade processing zones in foreign countries. "Investors from Qingdao have already invested in building the Mulungushi (Qingdao) Industrial Park in Zambia," Vice-Mayor Wu said, adding that the government is now encouraging other local enterprises to invest in setting up production and service facilities in the park. It also expects local firms to build production bases in neighboring areas with easy access to energy and resources. According to the Qingdao Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, local companies launched 265 projects abroad in the past five years, with a combined investment of $210 million and operations ranging from household electrical appliances, textiles, food and beverages, to engineering. These enterprises have established their own brand names and sales channels overseas.
For instance, the Haier Group, which established a complete global network of design, purchasing, manufacturing, marketing and service, is the fastest-growing Qingdao enterprise overseas. By January 2008, Haier had established three industrial parks, 30 manufacturing bases and factories, 18 design centers and 58,800 marketing outlets outside China. President Hu Jintao participated in the founding ceremony of the Haier-Ruba Economic Zone in Pakistan when he visited the country. The economic zone was built with Chinese grants, and is the first such zone abroad to be inaugurated by a Chinese enterprise. The Qingdao Construction Group Corporation earned revenues worth $1.32 billion last year by contracting construction projects and offering labor services in the Middle East, Africa, Oceania and Southeast Asia. The group now has more than 5,000 employees and 22 branches in 19 foreign countries. A number of new projects with a total investment over $200 million, launched by companies such as the Haier Group, Hisense Goup, Tsingtao Beer and Jinwang Group, were established in overseas regions this year. (China Daily 04/16/2008 page12) |
