Nantong uses $860 million foreign capital in Q1

The actual use of foreign capital in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, was valued at about $860 million in the first quarter of 2020, according to the city's bureau of commerce.

The manufacturing industry used $370 million, representing an increase of 5.1 percent year-on-year and accounting for 43.4 percent of the city's total use of foreign capital. Strategic emerging industries used $550 million, accounting for 63.9 percent of the city's total.

During the first three months, the city signed 24 projects with each receiving more than $10 million in investment and seven projects with each costing more than $100 million.

However, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the number of newly established foreign-funded firms dropped 45.59 percent year-on-year to 37.

Statistics also showed that the service sector has proved attractive to foreign investors during the first quarter. A total of 22 foreign-funded service projects were newly approved and cost $486 million, up 23.98 percent year on year.

According to officials at the commerce bureau, the city's outsourcing and labor service companies were also severely hit by the outbreak.

The newly-signed contracts were valued at $87.3 million, down 55 percent year on year, while the number of newly-dispatched personnel dropped 65.6 percent to 567.

The commerce bureau is currently working to help these businesses with epidemic control and prevention overseas and purchase protective items for overseas workforce.

In contrast, a number of biomedicine companies have seen a surge amid the crisis, with the value of research and development outsourcing up 81.6 percent year on year.