PwC starts business in Hainan

Price Waterhouse Coopers Consulting (PwC), a world leading professional service group, held a launch ceremony for the Hainan Branch in Haikou, capital of Hainan province, on July 10.

PwC signed a cooperation agreement with the Haikou municipal people's government on May 18, consenting to apply a modern comprehensive development service system in the Hainan Branch to integrate functions of government, business and individual talents to contribute to Hainan's development.

On June 19, the two parties organized an investment promotion activity among multinational, private, Japanese and technological innovation enterprises. More than 100 global top organizations and enterprises, such as the American Chamber of Commerce, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup and Hitachi, sent representatives.

PwC looks forward to the opportunities brought by the establishment of the China (Hainan) Pilot Free Trade Zone and a free trade port with Chinese characteristics in Hainan, according to Cai Xiaoying, director of PwC's Hainan Branch. The company is planning to found a research center assembling specialists from home and abroad to deeply analyze the development trends and prospect of domestic and foreign cities from different perspectives. It will also introduce high-quality projects and investment and integrate resources of markets, capital and talents to attract more enterprises to settle in Hainan.

In addition to PwC, Ernst & Young, another of the worldwide accounting giants, also established a branch in Haikou this May. The provincial government facilitated cooperation with the two companies and is negotiating with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and KPMG as well, offering policies favoring branch establishment and daily operations.

PwC was established in the UK in 1998 through merging Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand. Its member institutions cover 158 countries and regions including Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Xi'an, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.