At the ongoing fifth session of the 12^th People’s Congress of Guangdong Province, the governmental work report brought forward that the province will actively attract and utilize foreign investment, build a “powerful magnet” for attracting foreign investment and strive to become the primary choice of foreign investors.

Due to the rise of production element cost and the restriction of resource and environment, it is unsustainable to attract foreign investment through the creation of “policy basin” with preferential incentives. Attracting foreign investment through competitive internal vitality, system, environment and services is the only sustainable way. In 2017, the province will forge an investment environment with greater international competitiveness.

So, the province will launch seven measures in utilizing foreign investment.

1. Improving contract implementation rate, and focusing on 100 projects in Guangzhou and Shenzhen

Making great efforts in improving the rates of transformation from signed contracts to contracted foreign funds, and from contracted foreign funds to actual funds, and speeding up the settle-down of foreign funds in stock. The provincial foreign funds implementation supervision mechanism should be established, and supervision records for 100 key foreign-funded projects shall be made for quarterly supervision one by one. The cities should formulate foreign-funded projects implementation progress mechanism, and focus on supervision of some selected projects. Each city of the Pearl River Delta should select 25 projects above for supervision, including above 50 projects for Guangzhou and Shenzhen each. Each city in eastern, western and northern regions of Guangdong should select 10 projects above for supervision.

2. Carrying out industrial chain investment promotion to remedy the province’s weak rings

The province will focus on ten industries, namely high-end digital Numerical Control Machine Tools, industrial robots, household appliances, information communication equipment, new energy automobiles, IC industry, textile and garments, chemical industry, environmental equipment, bio-medicine, seek and remedy weak rings in the industrial chain, and carry out industrial chain-based investment promotion pertinently. Provincial and municipal coordinated task forces under the unified leadership of the provincial leader in charge of the issue should be established for the industry-based investment promotion.

3. Developing foreign funds utilization new policies, researching and formulating the provincial foreign funds utilization incentives

Guangdong will carry out the Notification on Measures for Expanding Opening-up and Actively Utilizing Foreign Funds issued by the State Council, research and formulate the province’s incentives for foreign investment utilization. The province will boost the registration for the examination, approval and alternation of foreign investment, carry out new industrial directory catalog, and comprehensively apply the negative list management mode. It will insist on equality for domestic and foreign investment to build a good fair play environment in the aspects of foreign funds policy, foreign funds qualification and certificates, standardization, governmental procurement, investment and financing. The provincial foreign investment work conference will be held to research and deploy this year’s task, intensify the work efforts and actively forge a “powerful magnet” for attracting foreign investment.

4. Properly organizing investment promotion with focus on occidental regions

To supportl magnet” for attracting foreign investment.

5. Innovating in investment promotion modes, building a Guangdong industrial investment promotion alliance

Guangdong will establish an industrial investment promotion alliance, and create industrial investment promotion channels and network under the leadership of investment promotion agencies with the participation of manufacturers, industrial parks, industrial associations, professional service agencies and think tanks. And investment promotion think tanks will be established. Strategical cooperation with global top consulting agencies including Mckinsey & Company, IBM Business Consulting and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants will be established to offer references for investment promotion decisions. Guangdong will explore intermediate-based investment promotion to display their advantages in industrial knowledge, investment information access and extensive network coverage, utilize their resources, share industrial investment information and jointly introduce high-quality projects.

6. Building global economic network, and a platform for sharing overseas economic and trade work

Guangdong will give full play of the government’s office in Europe, start the platform for collecting policies on “Ushering in” and “Going Global” program and other policies, establish overseas economic and trade network resource sharing platform and membership mechanism, coordinate provincial departments and overseas representative offices to focus on key tasks.

7. Forging foreign fund collection place, intensifying construction of foreign funds attraction platform

Directive opinions and related measures promoting the investment promotion of economic development zones and international cooperation parks will be researched to make pilot operation in key fields including planning and construction, project introduction and management, zone management mode, investment and financing mode, public services and human resources, and forge a place for foreign fund concentration.

 

Source: Translated from Invest Guangzhou, Jan. 22, 2017