Chambers move to support growth of private sector

Updated: 2014-04-30 11:10

(China Daily)

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As the fires of entrepreneurship burn in western China, the Chengdu Federation of Industry and Commerce is expanding a program that will help its member chambers of commerce do more to support 240,000 private-sector enterprises in the city.

An official of the CFIC, said the organization is working with governments, banks and research institutes to give full play to various chambers of commerce and their member enterprises in Chengdu, as well as opening new channels to private investment for diversifying their business scope.

The CFIC was established in 1953 as a local organization under the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. It has 78 chambers of commerce representing different interests, with 49 chambers for companies from other cities and provinces, 27 trade chambers and special associations for women or young entrepreneurs.

"To solve the and financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises, it's crucial for government departments and financial institutes to have detailed rules on simplifying and guiding the sound development of private investment," the official said.

The CFIC has offered free business development courses for the managers of different chambers of commerce and their member companies to understand their rights, as well as new business policies and regulations established by the central government and the city.

The CFIC will also provide incentives for creative companies that achieve breakthroughs in scientific innovation and new business models.

It has established a research center for the private-sector economy, and it also set up a continuing education center and a service center in 2013.

It aims to resolve legal issues for private companies and provide investment and tax consulting services for companies based outside Chengdu, which may invest in the city to seek new market growth.

The GDP of Chengdu amounted to 910 billion ($148 billion) last year. The proportion of private companies are likely to exceed 60 percent of the city's business by the end of this year.

The official said that the chamber of commerce as a form of network is widely recognized by foreign companies and governments that come to the city to discuss business. It's also useful in developing new export destinations by using the resources of the whole chamber.

"With more companies from outside of the city continuing to deploy money and technical resources in Chengdu, another 14 chambers of commerce will be established to assist their growth by the end of this year," the official said.

Eager to develop the economy in a sustainable way, the Chengdu government has made specific plans to transform and upgrade urban spaces and management, industries and the environment.

The city will strive to improve the allocation of resources, as well as social governance, the industrial structure, the integration of urban and rural development and opening-up to the world.

Fan Zhigang, president of the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce in Chengdu, which represents more than 270,000 business owners and employees from the capital of Guangdong province, said Chengdu has more market potential. Fan said the city is also even-handed in its treatment of companies from other provinces.

"Because our market (in Guangzhou) developed and matured earlier than those in most other Chinese cities, the competition is quite intense and it's hard to make large profits," Fan said.

To balance its urban and rural development, Chengdu will promote the integration of urban and rural planning, industrial development, infrastructure construction, public services and social management.

Tang Shicai, secretary-general of the Chengdu Fuzhou Chamber of Commerce, which was formed in 2001 and has more than 600 enterprises from the capital of Fujian province, noted Chengdu's surging consumption power, its growing need for more sophisticated services, well-developed logistics facilities and convenient geographic location.

Tang said these factors were the principal reasons that companies from China's coastal regions were setting up new companies, branches and factories in Chengdu.

However, Tang said the city should speed up the pilot work on mixed ownership reform.

Doing so "could help optimize the economic structure and further boost entrepreneurs' confidence. It would be conducive to the sustainable and healthy growth of the city's private economy," said Tang.

Contact the writers through zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn.

Chambers move to support growth of private sector
Customers shop at a Hongqi convenience store in Chengdu. Chengdu Hongqi Chain Co Ltd, supported by the Chengdu Federation of Industry and Commerce, is a leading chain retailer. Provided to China Daily