In the eyes of Hubert Xu, the competitive business environment has always been an ace Guangzhou can play to win the hearts of investors.

Xu is the president of CDC Group in the Guangzhou Development District and a senior advisor to the city's international investment board. His company has a lot of contact with foreign investors, many of them top 500 global conglomerates.

"Business operations in Guangzhou are much easier and much more efficient," he told China Daily, due to the city government's move to streamline administrative procedures and alleviate government intervention in the market.

One example he cites is business registration reform that city implemented early last year that exempts a foreign-funded project from needing a permit before applying for a business license. The business license itself can be ready in three days compared to 15 working days before.

"The reform ended the history when a new company had months of torture before it had the license to start," he explained.

"The change was definitely significant, especially for a foreign-funded enterprise," he noted.

Xu lauded the city government's investor-friendly and ready-for-service attitudes, awareness of market mechanisms and adherence to fair play and international practices.

He also cited Guangzhou's proximity to Hong Kong and Macao as well as convenient public facilities in daily life, an improved traffic network, good air quality, the well-developed supply chain and logistics system. Rich human resources add another winning card to attract investors, he said.

"I've heard from quite a few of my clients that they enjoy doing business and enjoy their life here," he said.

Xu's remarks are echoed by senior executives of foreign-funded enterprises attending the first Guangzhou Annual Investment Conference on March 26.

"The local government's awareness of service and its administrative efficiency have impressed me deeply," said Peng Wei, president of Carl Zeiss China.

"That was a crucial reason why Carl Zeiss finally decided to invest in Guangzhou," he said.

Keith Williams, president and CEO of US-based Underwriters Laboratories Inc, also had complementary remarks.

The transformation of Guangzhou from what it was 25 years ago when he first came "is absolutely beyond description", he said.

He said the residents - the region's strongest asset - are another reason why UL continues to invest in South China.

UL has five testing labs in China, two in Guangzhou.

"If you're not in Guangzhou, you're not in China," Williams said.

Guangzhou's ideal business climate has also earned wide recognition.

Forbes China magazine ranked Guangzhou the No 1 city in the country for business four times from 2010 to 2014.

The city also topped studies evaluating city government performances in 2014.

Yet even with all the accolades, the local authorities are all not content. Top officials of the city have pledged on several occasions recently to further the efforts to improve the business climate by sticking to market mechanisms, international practices and the rule of law.

Mayor Chen Jianhua said during the city's People's Congress session in early February that it "will enhance its administrative transparency and efficiency with innovative services, create a market climate for disciplined competition by improving market supervision, and improve law enforcement for business operations".

zhanlisheng@chinadaily.com.cn

Cars roll off a production facility at Guangzhou Automobile Group. The company is the joint venture partner of foreign automakers such as Toyota, Honda and Fiat. Provided to China Daily

(China Daily 03/28/2015 page6)