Raft of projects established to support high-quality development

In late September, a commencement ceremony for 23 projects with a total investment worth about 11.89 billion yuan ($1.72 billion), was held in the county of Pingtan in eastern Fujian province and officials said they would support high-quality development in the region.

The projects include industry projects and infrastructure projects. Nurturing the development of industry is part of a 120-day program launched by the county government in September.

Chen Shanguang, a senior Party official in Pingtan, said that the authorities wanted to develop emerging sectors that are in line with building the region up as international tourist destination. Pingtan wants to create a comprehensive industry ecosystem supported by modern service sectors including the tourism, the recreation and logistics sectors, Chen said.

Pingtan recently released an implementation plan for nurturing the development of industries. According to the plan, the aim is to achieve a total output value of 25.3 billion yuan for the region's featured industries by the end of 2018.

By the end of the current year, the aim is to plan 200 industry projects and sign off on 100 of the projects. The blueprint also envisages the startup of 23 industry projects, with the investment worth 900 million yuan, and the completion of 10 of these projects, which will attract funding of 1.9 billion yuan.

Pingtan's authorities have been looking at harnessing a new engine for industrial development, local media reported. At the Pingtan Innovation Forum for Entrepreneurs, Scientists and Financiers, held on Sept 28, the county unveiled a series of policies and projects, signed a number of projects.

On the same day, Pingtan announced policies and measures to encourage the development, among others, of the shipping and logistics industry and integrated circuits sector. Pingtan official Xu said the policies and measures focused on developing an industrial chain.

Taking integrated circuits as an example, Pingtan is offering policy assistance for industry professionals, and helping in the design and research for components and in developing the production of chips.

One company that has benefited from the initiative is innovative semiconductor technology company CR Technology (Pingtan) Co. It signed an investment agreement with Pingtan's economic development bureau, planning to build integrated circuit testing and packaging factories in the county with investment at 100 million yuan.

A businessman from Taiwan started up the business in a Pingtan entrepreneurship park in 2015. Turnover of the company topped 20 million yuan in 2017, up from 9.8 million yuan the previous year.

Executives said that based on results from the plant, the company can provide more high-end products and services for customers.

In recent years, Pingtan has greatly increased the efficiency of its administration and approval process and created a good business environment, local officials said.

The region's administrative services center has fine-tuned its ability to attract industry projects.

Officials said Pingtan had promoted its industrial upgrading through major projects and by targeting emerging industries, in the process building up a high-quality modern industrial system. At the Pingtan innovation forum, the county signed off on 47 projects with a total investment worth 19.66 billion yuan.

The rapid development of the financial industry is another sector thriving in Pingtan. To the east of Pingtan is the Taiwan Strait, and it is the closest place in the Chinese mainland to the province of Taiwan.

The county has issued an implementation plan for building a cross-Straits finance area and promoting development of the financial industry, including funding through stock market listings.

A company from Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding with Pingtan for a futures finance license and financial training projects on Sept 28.

An executive from the company said the main reason it chose Pingtan was that the region aimed to develop the cross-Straits finance area and it boasted innovative and preferential policies.