The arch building of the Free Trade Zone in north China's Tianjin. (Photo/enorth.com.cn)
New stats show the Free Trade Zone in Tianjin has attracted nearly 175 billion yuan worth of capital since it was first launched 3 months ago, including both domestic and foreign currencies.
The figures released by the Tianjin FTZ Commission show that over the past 3 months, the pilot Free Trade Zone, which is still under construction, has managed to attract 7-thousand-53 new players.
At the same time, Jiang Guangjian, deputy director of the Tianjin FTZ Commission, says a lot of foreign cash is making its way into the Free Trade Zone.
"In the first half of the year, 218 projects were created here. The number of companies in the zone has increased over 110 percent, and the registered capital has shot up by 182 percent. Though the number of foreign companies accounts for only 4 percent of the total, their registered capital makes up 37 percent. This proportion is the highest one among the three new FTZs in China. We feel this shows the foreign-invested projects in Tianjin are of high quality."
Canadian aviation giant Bombardier plans to inject 30 million U.S. dollars into Tianjin to set up a business jet maintenance center, which will be the first of its kind in China.
On top of this, Airbus is establishing its new A330 completion and delivery center in Tianjin.
It's being built along-side the existing A320 plant, and will be tasked with finishing the interiors of the A330's, as well as sales.
It's expected to be operational in late 2017, with the first planes to be moved out in early 2018.
Lv Jinzhou, deputy director of the Tianjin Bonded Zone Commission, says the new Airbus investment will make Tianjin more influential in the aviation industry.
"The completion and delivery center for the Airbus A330 is the biggest project connected to Sino-European aviation cooperation since the establishment of the Airbus A320 assembly line. Tianjin is set to become only the world's 4th production center for both single and dual channel airplanes, behind only Toulouse, Hamburg and Seattle."
Meanwhile, Li Chunyu with the Tianjin Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV says a number of foreign entertainment companies are already showing increasing interest in Tianjin.
"Foreign invested entertainment agencies will be able to set up in Tianjin after getting the proper national approvals. This should attract more international performances to Tianjin and promote the cultural sector of the city. Previous limits on foreign investment in the entertainment sector have been canceled. Joint ventures and wholly-owned foreign entertainment companies are now allowed in the FTZ."
Meanwhile, in an effort to try to attract even more foreign investment, the new three FTZs in Tianjin, Fujian, and Guangdong are also streamlining their investment procedures to make it easier for even more sectors to invest in their citites.
