Fund set up to upgrade manufacturing in Wuhan

Birds' view of the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]

The Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, has launched a program to offer 500 million yuan ($74 million) in funds as an incentive to encourage enterprises in the zone to transform and upgrade their manufacturing systems, local media reported.

The plan was announced at the economic conference of the development zone's Working Committee on Tuesday (Jan 10). It aims to boost high-quality development of Wuhan's manufacturing.

It was learned at the conference that in 2023, the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone plans to unveil several development policies, including one that aims to boost sectors including the service, construction and agriculture industries. Policies will also be released to attract professionals, stimulate market entities and bolster the development of digital economy, finance and new materials research and development.

An automobile plant in WEDZ. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]

The incentive plan introduces 10 concrete measures and 20 incentive clauses to support manufacturing companies in improving their development, centering around enterprise transformation and renovation, market development and synergy within industrial chains.

In addition, the plan provides incentives to excellent enterprise management teams with a maximum reward of 2 million yuan. It has also set up a 50 million-yuan fund to help enterprises in the zone with market development.

The Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, home to nearly 30,000 enterprises, is the main source of Wuhan's industrial economy.

In 2022, it overcame the effects of multiple unexpected adverse factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and went all out to stabilize growth. The annual GDP of the development zone is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan, and the total output value of industries is expected to reach 346.2 billion yuan, up 7 percent year-on-year.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), the zone's auto industry saw a total output value of more than 1.16 trillion yuan ($179.45 billion). It also manufactured and sold around 5.5 million completed vehicles and produced nearly 80 million units (sets) of household appliances, with an output value of more than 150 billion yuan.