The top American advocate for South China businesses said yesterday that Shenzhen has the best transportation infrastructure, telecommunications systems and supply chains in all of China, making the city the top mainland platform for foreign companies looking to expand in the country.
"Shenzhen is leading the rest of China in the streamlining of regulations and the understanding of the needs of foreign investors," said Harley Seyedin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, known as AmCham.
Seyedin said U.S. companies investing in Shenzhen are growing by an average of 30 percent per year, and the numbers of U.S. companies collaborating with Shenzhen in the high-tech and finance industries are especially increasing. AmCham has developed more than 2,000 corporate and individual members in South China since 1995. Thirty percent of those members are based in Shenzhen.
Seyedin's comments came during a meeting of local officials and investors from European countries and the United States yesterday in the Civic Center in Futian District. Foreign investors at the event expressed widespread willingness to expand business cooperation with Shenzhen.
The meeting was organized by Invest Shenzhen, a government-run organization that promotes foreign investment, and introduces Shenzhen's preferential policies and investment environment to foreign enterprises and individuals.
Bruno Bisson, the French consulate general in Guangzhou, said France is strengthening its cooperation with Shenzhen in the automobile and nuclear energy industries.
PSA Automobile Co. from France has invested more than 8 billion yuan (US$1.28 billion) in a joint venture with China Chang'an Group to build a car factory in Shenzhen, he said.
"The factory is almost completed," Bisson said. "That's our biggest investment in Shenzhen."
Bisson said French enterprises also are developing cooperation across China in nuclear energy, and may set up nuclear research centers in Shenzhen. Bisson suggested potential business cooperation in the green energy and pharmaceutical industries.
Vice Mayor Chen Biao said Shenzhen has built business ties with Europe and the United States since the 1980s. European enterprises have invested in about 840 projects in Shenzhen, with values totaling US$4.54 billion, while U.S. enterprises have invested in 3,700 projects totaling US$15.75 billion, Chen said.
Many representatives from Europe and the United States participated in yesterday's meeting, including Johan D'Halleweyn, consulate general of Belgium in Guangzhou; David C. Schroeder, U.S. consulate general in Guangzhou; Holger Kunz, chairman of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China's PRD chapter; Stefan Rosenbohm, board chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce in South and Southwest China; and Isabelle Carlier, executive director of the Shenzhen office of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China.
On the Web
INVEST Shenzhen, a government-run organization that promotes foreign investment, announced the launch of its English-language website — http://en.szinvest.gov.cn — during a foreign investment meeting yesterday. The site is an information source for foreign enterprises and investors who want to conduct business in the city.
(Source: Shenzhen Daily)