Liaoning gains more attention from foreign investors

Northeast China's Liaoning province is on a fast track to solidifying its status as an investment hub by drawing growing attention from a number of foreign investors bullish on its market potential.

Through implementing a series of policies conducive to foreign investment and bringing forth more opportunities for foreign companies, the province has become home to the commercial presence of industry leaders such as South Korea's SK Group, France's Michelin and BMW Brilliance Automotive — a joint venture between Germany's BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.

By the end of 2023, Liaoning had accumulated a total of $245.5 billion in foreign investment. The province's goods have been exported to over 200 countries and regions worldwide, among which the export of electric passenger cars, lithium batteries and solar cells all enjoyed substantial year-on-year surges.

Ahn Tae Min, chairman of CJ (Shenyang) Biotech Co Ltd — South Korean firm CJ Group's China branch in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning — expressed optimism about the city's favorable investment environment. He highlighted the company's rapid expansion in Liaoning in recent years, and expressed strong confidence in the Chinese market.

CJ (Shenyang) Biotech produces food additive nucleotides and feed additive amino acids using corn as a raw material through bio-fermentation technology. CJ Group is a Fortune Global 500 firm founded in 1953.

CJ (Shenyang) Biotech, established in 2011, has become CJ Group's largest overseas investment project with an initial investment of 3 billion yuan ($414 million).

"Liaoning enjoys superior geographical advantages and abundant grain resources. The province provides a favorable business environment with solid industrial foundations and comprehensive industrial categories. In addition, it boasts abundant scientific and educational resources, with numerous renowned universities, research institutions and a large number of high-quality industrial workers. These advantages provide ample motivation and confidence for enterprises to achieve high-quality development," Ahn said.

Wu Jun, Party secretary of Shenbei New Area in Shenyang, said the presence of leading agricultural enterprises like Wellhope has driven investment and development in the agricultural sector.

"Meanwhile, we have formulated a series of investment attraction policies and established a platform for enterprise innovation and technological empowerment, leveraging high-quality resources from institutions such as Shenyang Agricultural University to foster high-quality development," Wu said.

Ahn said: "CJ will further integrate our own advantages with Liaoning's geographical advantages to contribute to the province's high-quality development and realize the high-quality development of our company. At the same time, we will actively encourage South Korean entrepreneurs to pay attention to Liaoning and invest in Liaoning, seizing opportunities for new growth points."