10 reasons Hainan is top choice for expats

Open business environment

To attract foreign investors, the approval of foreign enterprises in Hainan province will take a maximum of only three days. The province has been making efforts to remove barriers to market access and requires local governments to create a healthy business environment for fair competition. Hainan took the lead on online administrative approval in July 2017, enabling applicants to submit administrative approval affairs at home with a computer.

On Jan 1, 2019, a free trade account system was officially put into service. The free trade account system dispenses with the earlier requirement of maintaining two accounts, one for domestic transactions and the other for international transactions, replacing them with a unified domestic and foreign currency account with the renminbi as the base currency.

It allows market entities to conveniently carry out investment, financing, and cross-border transactions applicable to the Hainan free trade zone.

Twelve pillar industries

Hainan Island will utilize its advantages to push forward the construction of 12 key industries, covering tourism, tropical agriculture, internet, medicine, healthcare, financial services, exhibition, modern logistics, oil and gas, low-carbon manufacturing, education, and real estate.

In the first half of 2018, the industries mentioned above maintained strong momentum and totaled an added value of 154.3 billion yuan ($22.45 billion), contributing 63.4 percent of the provincial GDP.

Unique geographical advantages

Situated at the southernmost tip of China and the center of the Asia Pacific economic circle, the island of Hainan overlooks Guangdong province across the Qiongzhou Strait to its north and Vietnam across the Beibu Bay to its west.

A pleasant tropical maritime climate makes Hainan an ideal home, especially for seniors or those seeking health benefits. The island experiences no winter and has an annual sunshine duration of between 1,750 to 2,650 hours, a yearly average temperature of 23 C to 26 C, and an average annual rainfall of above 1,600 mm.