The Qingdao Municipal Government recently printed and issued the Several Measures of Qingdao for Further Improving Foreign Investment Environment and Ramping up Efforts to Attract Foreign Businesses and Investments. 24 measures are rolled out in six aspects, namely advancing higher-level opening-up, taking better advantage of foreign investments, giving more play to the guaranteeing role of policy factors, facilitating sci-tech innovation in foreign-invested enterprises, fostering a first-class business environment and putting in place a sound mechanism for attracting foreign investments, aimed at appealing to global partners in a sincere way for urban development with pragmatic services and handsome awards.

With a focus on expanding the breadth and depth of opening-up, the Several Measures stipulate support for key sectors pioneering opening-up. The strategy for upgrading the Qingdao Area of China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone will be adopted, and measures will be taken to explore wider opening-up in marine economy, financial services among other sectors. Prioritizing opening-up in modern trading, international logistics and other sectors, the SCODA will push ahead with reform and innovation to build a new international cooperation platform for the Belt and Road Initiative. Opening-up in key sectors will be further pursued. Investment cooperation with Japan, South Korea, Germany, Singapore and other countries in high-end equipment, biological medicine and clean energy will be deepened. Qingdao will beef up efforts to cooperate with Hong Kong and Macao in international shipping, fintech and equity funds. Leveraging foreign-invested enterprises’ overseas resources and competitive channels, Qingdao will stretch the role of existing businesses to introduce foreign-funded projects from more countries and regions to have the source of investments diversified.

Qingdao will offer handsome awards with sincerity to attract investment in a targeted manner for key sectors. The Several Measures explicitly call for stepping up policy support for foreign-funded projects in manufacturing. Newly-established foreign-funded manufacturing enterprises with an annual paid-in investment of more than USD20 mln (inclusive) and a fixed asset of over RMB20 mln, as well as these with an increase of USD10 mln (inclusive) in capital and a fixed asset of over RMB20 mln are entitled to an award calculated as 3% of their fixed-asset investment, whose ceiling amounts to RMB100 mln.  (Liu Lanxing)

Qingdao rolls out 24 measures to appeal to global partners for urban development.