Construction of 142 projects involving a total investment of 37.3 billion yuan ($5.85 billion) started Thursday in South China's Hainan Free Trade Port.
Hainan province plans to build a high-quality and competitive industrial chain for coconuts in the next five years to satisfy the rapidly expanding domestic market, according to a local government report.
In many parts of the world, the devastating COVID-19 pandemic sank duty-free retailers without a trace, forced airport shops to shutter, halted cruise tours and hindered their sales growth.
Su Qingtian, a newlywed from East China's Fujian province, kicked off her honeymoon trip by spending big at the duty-free shops (DFS) in the southern Chinese island of Hainan.
Offshore duty-free sales in South China's island province of Hainan reached 60.2 billion yuan (about $9.4 billion) in 2021, an increase of 84 percent year on year, said the provincial department of commerce.
From 2019 to 2021, Hainan has invested 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) of its central budget to support the 66 major projects at the Hainan Free Trade Port.
Local cocoa gains global fame, generates revenue, boosts regional development.
