Ningbo's business climate recognized by enterprises, report says

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province ranked among the top 10 cities nationwide in terms of business climate, according to a recent report.

The report, released by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce at a conference in Wenzhou on Nov 1, was based on a survey polling tens of thousands of private enterprises across the country from June to October.

Hangzhou topped the rankings, followed by Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing, Beijing, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu.

Ningbo was praised for its rule of law, administrative services, market, and innovation.

In recent years, the city has been making efforts to develop a congenial law-based business climate in line with international standards, and administrative service procedures have been greatly streamlined.

For instance, the approval time for construction projects in the city has been shortened to less than 70 workdays, while the time required for enterprise investment projects has been slashed to a maximum of 47 workdays, down from 172 workdays. The 105 items that enterprises previously had to declare in order to import goods have been reduced to just nine.

The optimized business climate has stimulated the local market. Official data show that last year, the number of private enterprises and amount of registered capital increased by 10.3 percent and 10.4 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The local government plans to further deepen systemic reforms in key areas, including market access, government services, supervision and law enforcement, and protection of market entities.