Suzhou 'most attractive' to foreign investors
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-01 13:58
Suzhou, long dubbed a paradise on earth for its famed ancient gardens, has
turned out to be just as alluring to foreign investors.
The Jiangsu city tops the ranking of "China's 20 Most
Attractive Cities for Foreign Investors," which was released yesterday. It is
followed by Shanghai and Qingdao; and Beijing ranks seventh.
The Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and China Business News evaluated about 290
Chinese cities in four months to arrive at the ranking.
Major criteria
included the amount of foreign investment the city absorbed since 2003; the
proportion of foreign investment in the city's total investment; and its average
annual growth of foreign investment in the past three years.
Of the top
20, eight are from East China's coastal provinces and seven from South China,
which shows that "eastern and southern regions are still the hot areas for
foreign investors," said Jin Pei, deputy director of CASS' Institute of
Industrial Economics.
However, cities in central and western China are
becoming increasingly popular, as most cities that boast rapid growth in foreign
investment are from the two areas, according to Jin.
"Our research shows
that it's inevitable that multinational companies invest more in central and
western areas where they can have even lower manufacturing costs," he
said.
Nantong, Nanchang, Yangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha are the top five
in terms of growth rate.
As for special economic zones, Suzhou
Industrial Park, Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone and Xiamen Industrial
Development Zone are the three most sought after.
Li Peiju,
editor-in-chief of China Business News, said the ranking could serve as valuable
reference for international investors who have already entered, or plan to
enter, China.
A previous CASS survey shows what multinational companies
are concerned most about is not favourable taxation polices but administrative
efficiency of the local government.
Jin said if China wants to maintain
its position as a favoured destination for foreign investment, governments
should make efforts to improve their efficiency.
Figures from the
National Development and Reform Commission show that from 2001 to 2005, China
absorbed US$286 billion in foreign direct investment, of which Suzhou took in
US$20 billion.
Last
year, more than 25 million people were working at overseas-funded companies in
China.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
|
