Oxean logo

Oxea and the Chinese listed Chengxing Group have signed an agreement with the Changzhou Municipal Government. This is for the approval of a land grant in the Changzhou Yangtze River Chemical Industrial Park on which will be built a plant for the production of amines and other chemicals.

Chenxing Group

Oxea and Chengxing are planning to form a new joint venture company with Oxea as the majority shareholder.

This is the first major investment for Oxea in China. Amines are mainly used for the production of pharmaceuticals, dyes, agrochemicals and polymer additives.
Source: Chemie.de

Beijing Yanqi Economic Development Area is now working with Beijing Great Wall investment Development to increase the number of companies within the zone. All the necessary facilities to accommodate the establishment and growth of business are already in place. It is now ready to expand.

The zone was established in April of 1992 with the approval of Beijing Municipal Government. In December 2000 the government decided to accredit this area as one of the key industrial development zones under the direct jurisdiction of the municipality.

The area has a total planned area of 1,493 hectares and incudes the Beijing Yanqi Economic Development Zone Beijing Fengxiang Science & Technology Development Zone and Beijing Jingwei Industrial Zone. It is 55 kilometers drive from the urban district, 35 kilometers from Beijing Capital International Airport, and 170 kilometers from Tianjin Harbor.

So far more than 300 production enterprises have based their businesses in the area including more than 70 foreign owned enterprises coming from 17 countries or regions.

The Administrative Committee of Beijing Yanqi Economic Development Area has authorized Beijing Great Wall investment Development to develop, sell and transfer the right of land use of the zone.
Source: Invest Beijing

[photopress:Bohai_zone.jpg,full,alignright]Anton Smitsendonk has written a Jamestown China Brief, ‘Guarded Walls within the Chinese Stock Market’ so he is not inexperienced. The author is National Co-ordinator for the UK-China Sustainable Development Dialogue. In his personal capacity he has written a review of China so his views do not necessarily reflect those of the UK government.

Briefly he says that three decades ago China was isolated and struggling, with poverty rates on a par with Malawi.

Today, China has joined the premier league: China’s economy has grown nine-fold to become the fourth largest economy in the world (a reasonable appreciation of the yuan would propel China in to second place, ahead of Japan).

A staggering 300 million people have been lifted out of poverty in this time. China now holds $1.75 trillion in its coffers, and has become the number-one trading nation and destination of foreign direct investment.

This is sometimes known as the ‘China Development Model’ and it is the subject of intense scrutiny and, sometimes, intense envy.

There is little doubt hat the focus on export-oriented growth and gradual liberalization of prices, combined with an outward-looking foreign investment regime were instrumental to high and sustained economic growth.

A high savings rate, upfront investments in large-scale infrastructure development, rapid urbanisation and a good investment climate were also undoubtedly key elements of economic success.

That is the good news. Now the criticisms which are mild.

The suggestion is that the term “China model” implies at least three things: success, replicability and deliberate design. On all three counts there is, perhaps, room still for healthy debate.

[photopress:zone2.jpg,full,alignleft]First the idea is presented that as an economic miracle it was not that great although it is difficult to think of a major country that did such an economic turnaround in such a short space of time. Then there are ecological problems. Finally, the ‘China model’ has still left some people, some areas, poor.

The suggestion is made, almost certainly correctly, that it faces formidable challenges going forward: how it addresses these will be the real test of its success.
Source: Bangkok Post

[photopress:zone_sez_china.jpg,full,alignright]Sometimes it is difficult to understand all the terms used. This is a brief primer.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are, for the moment, always located in mainland China. The government gives SEZs special economic policies and flexible governmental measures. This allows SEZs to utilize an economic management system that is especially conducive to doing business.

All of which seems pretty clear. And it has been going on since 1978 when the government decided to reform the national economic setup. Our illustration shows Shenzen, an early starter.

Since 1980, the PRC has established special economic zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong Province and Xiamen in Fujian Province, and designated the entire province of Hainan a special economic zone.

In 1984, the PRC further opened 14 coastal cities to overseas investment: Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Yantai, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Nantong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang and Beihai.

Since 1988, mainland China’s opening to the outside world has been extended to its border areas, areas along the Yangtze River and inland areas.

(For the record Hainan Island is China’s biggest special economic zone.)

Shortly afterwards, the State Council expanded the open coastal areas, extending into an open coastal belt the open economic zones of the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Triangle in south Fujian, Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula (Liaoning Province), Hebei and Guangxi.

In June 1990 the PRC government opened the Pudong New Area in Shanghai to overseas investment, and additional cities along the Yangtze River valley, with Shanghai’s Pudong New Area as its head.

Since 1992, the State Council has opened a number of border cities, and in addition, opened all the capital cities of inland provinces and autonomous regions.

Now it get a bit complicated because the nomenclature changes along with the developments.

At that time 15 free trade zones, 32 state-level economic and technological development zones, and 53 new- and high-tech industrial development zones were established in large and medium-sized cities. What are the differences between these categroies. They tend to have different preferential policies although the general aim is always the same — building up trade.

The five special economic zones are foreign-oriented areas which are primarily geared to exporting processed goods, integrating science and industry with trade. In 1999, Shenzhen’s new-and high-tech industry became one with best prospects, and the output value of new-and high-tech products reached RMB81.98 billion, making up 40.5% of the city’s total industrial output value.

To sum up the attractions (and they have seriously worked because these zones have been a great success are:

1. Special tax incentives for foreign investments in the SEZs.
2. Greater independence on international trade activities.
3. Economic characteristics are represented as 4 principles:

a. Construction primarily to rely on attracting and utilizing foreign capital.
b. Primary economic forms to be Sino-foreign joint ventures and partnerships as well as wholly foreign-owned enterprises.
c. Products to be primarily export-oriented.

d. Economic activities primarily driven by market forces.

[photopress:Industry_zone_ningbo.jpg,full,alignright]Akzo Nobel, perhaps the world’s leading paint and chemical provider, has formed a new enterprise to create a large China production base in the eastern Zhejiang Province.

The new chemical enterprise, Akzo Nobel Chemicals (Ningbo) has been set up in the chemical industrial zone of Ningbo City’s Zhenhai District.

The enterprise’s main products, chelates and ethenamine, are expected to start being manufactured in 2009 and 2010, respectively, with an initial investment of $385 million.

Robert Margevich, Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals B.V., president, promised the Dutch-based company would use cutting-edge technologies and observe the strictest health, safety and environmental standards at the new plant.

Deputy Consul General Leo Linscheer of the Netherlands Consulate General in Shanghai said Akzo Nobel had set up more than 20 factories and workshops since it entered the Chinese market in the 1980s. The further economic cooperation would deepen the friendship between the two nations.
Source: Manufacturing Business Technology