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Dynamic Hangzhou lures 12,000 foreign firms
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TWELVE thousand foreign investors can’t be wrong. Hangzhou is a great place to do business. More than 12,000 foreign-invested companies are operating in the capital of Zhejiang Province. In 2013 alone, foreign investment in the city rose 6.4 percent from a year earlier to US$5.2 billion.
Why here?
“Hangzhou is a dynamic city with a strong culture of innovation,” said Owen Chan, chairman and CEO of Cisco China. “The city has promising economic growth, a visionary government, abundance of research and development facilities, and proximity to professionals.”
Chan made the comments during the filming of a documentary presenting foreign views on doing business in Hangzhou. Participants included General Electric, Morgan Stanley, Sanofi and Cisco.
The documentary is being produced under a city partnership with CNBC.
“We want to hear the voices of people who can judge the city from their own real experience,” said Xie Shuangcheng, vice mayor of Hangzhou.
A delegation of more than 350 businessmen and officials will represent Hangzhou to take part in the China Zhejiang Investment and Trade Symposium, China Ocean Economy Investment Seminar, 2014 Special Products of Middle and Eastern European Countries Exhibition and China International Daily Consumer Goods Exhibition, which are held in Ningbo from June 8 to June 11.
Hangzhou, historically prized for its scenic beauty, has been a leader in China’s three-decade drive to modernize its economy and open to outside markets.
Today, beauty and business go hand in hand.
For eight straight years from 2004, Hangzhou was rated by Forbes magazine as one of the top 10 cities on the Chinese mainland for doing business. In November 2006, Hangzhou was ranked first in a World Bank survey of the investment climate in 120 Chinese cities.
“Our competitiveness comes from our ability to present a comprehensive package of services, resources and opportunities to foreign investors,” Xie said.
Indeed, the city offers investors an educated workforce, relatively cheaper land prices, a strong financial base, a pro-business government, a commitment to innovative and technological change, and a cultural lifestyle.
Industries such as creative arts, banking, information technology, pharmaceuticals and tourism have become cornerstones of Hangzhou’s economy. In the first quarter, the city’s gross domestic product grew 7.5 percent, among the top nationwide.
In addition to foreign companies, Hangzhou is home to the Alibaba Group, China’s biggest e-commerce company, which is about to make history as the biggest initial public offering in New York. The global profile of Alibaba has helped to make Hangzhou a “capital of China’s online industry.”
That has helped to bring private equity and venture capital to some of the city’s most innovative and advanced industries.
“We have made a lot of effort to attract foreign investors by letting them know the extraordinary advantages we have to offer,” Xie said. “The best way to do that is to provide excellent services for existing investors and let them be our ambassadors.”
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