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Gulou growth, a star of Nanjing

By Song Wenwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-17 07:52

A bird's eye view of Gulou district of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. The district is taking moves to attract more companies to set up headquarters there.

Gulou district in central Nanjing is promoting its "headquarters economy" in a bid to further boost economic growth.

Attracting international company head offices is an increasingly used mode of development across the country.

The city now ranks fifth among the nation's 35 major cities in the capacity to develop a headquarters economy, according to local statistics.

In a bid to attract yet more companies, Gulou district has adjusted its economic and industrial structure.

Covering less than 27 sq km - about one-tenth of Nanjing - Gulou accounts for nearly one-third of the city revenues, ranking it first among the six urban districts.

"One of the most important reasons (for high revenues) is that we have focused on the development of the headquarters economy," said Bao Yongan, district Party secretary.

"The headquarters economy also boosts development of the modern services industry in the city, which is an important strategy to optimize our industrial structure," he said.

"In recent years, we seized the opportunity when big domestic and international companies moved their headquarters to secondary cities in the country," he said.

"Through our efforts, a large number of companies set up their regional headquarters, research and development (R&D) centers and sales operations in Gulou district," Bao said.

"The arrival of these headquarters has generated demand for modern services - a win-win situation."

A highrise in the Science &Technology Square

Bao said that as the prime central district, Gulou is Nanjing's political, cultural, scientific and economic center.

He said that one of the most important advantages for Gulou is its vast array of talent.

There are 20 universities, more than 70 various research institutes and over 100,000 professional technicians in the district.

More than one-third of its residents have a college-level education, he said.

"We are using these advantages to attract company headquarters," Bao said.

Gulou is placing a priority on the development of hi-tech, modern services and cultural industries, he said.

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