Hainan Free Trade Port: Strong Appeal for Foreign Investment.

 HAIKOU, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- "Hainan Free Trade Port is becoming increasingly open, and it is foreseeable that international trade volume will continue to rise, which presents significant opportunities for cross-border import and export logistics companies," said He Jinqiang, the person in charge of Jiacheng International Technology Supply Chain (Hainan) Co., Ltd. Recently, this Hong Kong-funded holding company has been very busy as its newly built multi-functional logistics center in Haikou is undergoing renovation and is planned to be put into use within the year.

The openness of Hainan Free Trade Port has enhanced its attraction to global investors, and foreign companies are accelerating their entry into the island for investment opportunities. From 2018 to 2020, the actual utilization of foreign capital in Hainan doubled for three consecutive years, and in 2021 and 2022, it achieved double-digit growth. In the first half of this year, the newly established foreign-invested enterprises in Hainan increased by 3.5% compared to the previous year, and the actual utilization of foreign capital increased by 23.3%.

The market vitality of the free trade port continues to be unleashed. Since the beginning of this year, the policies of Hainan Free Trade Port and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have overlapped, further expanding the encouraged industry catalog for foreign investment in Hainan Free Trade Port. 

Jiacheng International has targeted the favorable policies for duty-free products and cross-border e-commerce in the entire island, and has proactively positioned itself in the full chain service of international trade logistics warehousing supply chain. He Jinqiang introduced that the total area of this logistics center is 210,000 square meters, and it will generate an annual turnover of approximately 2 billion RMB, with more than half of it coming from foreign business.

According to the Hainan International Economic Development Bureau, Hainan has made frequent efforts to attract foreign investment and promote overseas investment promotion this year, attracting a number of foreign companies such as the Estee Lauder Group from the United States, LVMH Group from France, and CWT Group from Singapore to establish trade, investment, and capital headquarters in key industries such as high-end consumption, medical health, modern logistics, and high-end food.

In July this year, CWT Group, a comprehensive logistics company based in Singapore, completed the first delivery of a new offshore international trade project by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hainan Xuntong International Logistics Co., Ltd., established in Hainan. CWT plans to carry out domestic commodity trade settlement, import and export trade business in Hainan, further expand the operation of logistics parks, and explore the possibility of establishing a Sino-Singapore industrial park while connecting with Singapore companies.

Ma Ruihong, the person in charge of Hainan Xuntong International Logistics Co., Ltd., said that the company hopes to leverage the advantages of Hainan Free Trade Port as a node connecting mainland China and Southeast Asia, and achieve interactive development between Hainan Free Trade Port, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Huang Yin, Managing Partner of the South China Region at Ernst & Young, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that Hainan Free Trade Port has outstanding market vitality and industrial potential, and its leading industries have strong adaptability, forming a joint force to attract foreign investment. Hainan continues to optimize the business environment and is determined to expand foreign investment, thereby enhancing investors' long-term market expectations.

To build a "strong magnetic field" that continuously attracts foreign investment, Hainan launched the construction of two "headquarters bases" this year, namely the headquarters base for Chinese companies going global and the headquarters base for foreign companies entering China. In July, New Zealand's StoneWood Group established its China branch in Hainan, aiming to establish a three-in-one platform for trade, industry, and investment between China and the South Pacific countries centered around Hainan, with a focus on new energy, environmental protection, and smart cities.

In the near future, Hainan has clearly stated its intention to explore the docking of international high-standard economic and trade rules and build the highest-level open platform in China. Liu Feng, Director of the Research Center of Hainan Free Trade Port with Chinese Characteristics at Hainan Normal University, said that Hainan needs to benchmark international high-level economic and trade rules, accelerate the formulation of a list of prohibited and restricted goods for Hainan Free Trade Port, expand new formats and models, and expedite the development and implementation of an action plan for the high-quality development of foreign investment in Hainan Free Trade Port.