Guangzhou Development District streamlines regulatory processes

Guangzhou Development District in South China's Guangdong province has streamlined its services for the registration and completion of investment projects so that the process now takes no more than 34 days from beginning to end.

A couple of years ago, the administrative approval for new investment projects meant that companies would spend as long as 800 days going through all the procedures from registration to construction, according to a report by Guangzhou Daily.

But in Guangzhou Development District, one of China's earliest State-level economic and high-tech development zones, the government promises that it will take no longer than 34 working days to complete all procedures.

A preview of the streamlined process took place in March 2017, when automotive industry supplier Magna International wanted to set up a joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group. They received a single piece of paper from the Guangzhou Development District government on how to go through all the administrative procedures needed.

There was "not much time for us, as the production line was required to finish the relocation and testing and start operation before China's National Day holiday in October, or the supply to the downstream firms would be suspended," said Chen Guocheng, general manager of Cosma, as the joint venture is known.

Surprisingly, it took just one day for the company to fulfill the registration, he recalled, and the whole must-do list was accomplished in 28 days, much fewer than the previous average of 110 days, making it a model example to showcase how efficient government could be.

As a result, construction of the joint venture's production center began on April 26 and came into operation on schedule.

Guangzhou Development District is the first such area in China to make the 34-day completion promise. In fact, according to the government, the process is completed in only 10 and a half working days on average, and 99 percent of the applications are completed in due time.

The streamlined process is part of the district's ambition to make itself "a place closest to success" for corporations and talents.

A man completes the process of registering his business license at the administrative service center of Guangzhou Development District, Guangdong province. The registration process has been streamlined to no more than 34 days. [Photo provided to China Daily]