Hainan continues to lure business through innovation

A cargo ship is docked at Yangpu Port Xiaochantan Pier. [Photo/Hainan Daily]

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, Hainan improved the management systems of its key industrial parks and continuously attracted new investment.

Companies have been gathering on the island province, where the business environment and the integration of industry and city have consistently been improved.

Key parks have become the main "battlefields" of Hainan Free Trade Port's economic activities, the main focus of the market, and the forefront of its industrial chain.  During the past five years, the province's key industrial parks continued to increase investment in infrastructure, including education, medical and health, housing, leisure and entertainment, and laid a solid foundation for development. During the whole year of 2019 and the first half of 2020, Hainan province invested 14.13 billion yuan ($2.19 billion) and 7.43 billion yuan in its industrial parks, up 44.7 percent and 36.7 percent year-on-year.

From the province's perspective, the "minimalist approvals" reform has seen steady progress. The "Legislative Implementation of the Minimalist Approval Reform of Key Industrial Parks", jointly created by the Haikou National High-tech Zone and Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, won the first prize given by Hainan to recognize achievements in reform and institutional innovation.

"Simpler and faster" means a more attractive business environment. As of June 2020, over 20,000 enterprises have settled in provincial industrial parks, achieving an operating income of 154.20 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.2 percent, and realizing tax revenue of 18 billion yuan, accounting for 36.1 percent of the province's tax revenue.

"Yangpu has launched a new type of offshore international trade facilitation pilot program, and has completed 83 offshore trade transactions totaling $1.14 billion. In addition, the comprehensive pilot program to facilitate overseas investment will be launched after the policy implementation rules are released," according to Ren Yanxin, deputy secretary of the Working Committee of Yangpu Economic Development Zone.

"There is no doubt that the construction of the Hainan FTP has brought huge opportunities to the development of Yangpu. The implementation of the FTP policy has greatly contributed to the industrial development and project implementation of Yangpu."

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Hainan will implement a dynamic adjustment mechanism and high-quality development action plan for park management. It will also build a major functional platform for FTP industries with high standards, according to Lyu Xianzhi, deputy head of the Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

Lyu added that piloting FTP policies and measures in key industrial parks will promote the free and orderly flows of trade, investment, capital, personnel, and data, and more "early harvests" are expected at the parks. At the same time, Hainan will also redouble its efforts on building several 100-billion-yuan and 10-billion-yuan industrial parks, to form a new highland for development.