Fujian slashes red tape to drive growth

Fujian provincial government's drive to streamline administrative procedures over the last five years appear to be bearing fruit, as more and more businesses settle in the southern province.

Provincial officials have been relentless in their determination to cut red tape and make the region an attractive destination for business and investment.

Since 2013, the Fujian provincial government has abolished or delegated 665 different approval powers to lower-level officials, helping to make governance more efficient.

In 2015, the province also rolled out an "all-in-one business license" to lighten the administrative burden on companies based in the region.

Rather than needing to apply separately for a business license, certificate of organization code and certificate of taxation registration, businesses in Fujian can now only need to obtain the all-in-one license.

Thanks to the policy, it now takes a company less than one day on average to obtain business approval in Fujian, whereas before 2015 it took nearly a month.

The streamlined system has been hugely popular. As of June 2017, more than 2.9 million companies in Fujian had been granted an “all-in-one business license”, and several provinces across China have since introduced similar schemes.

The Fujian Free Trade Zone, which was set up in 2015, has also introduced many pioneering initiatives that have helped turn the region in Southeast China into one of the country's hottest investment destinations.

As of the end of June, the FTZ had introduced 285 innovative policies since its creation, 103 of which were the first of their kind in China at the time.

The flood of companies moving into the FTZ reflects the success of these moves.

More than 12,000 businesses settled in Fujian FTZ during the first half of 2017, bringing with them a combined investment of 260 billion yuan ($39 billion), according to government statistics.