MEIZHOU, Guangdong Province: This mountainous city in the eastern part of Guangdong is determined to open its doors wider to the outside world, competing with prosperous cities in the Pearl River Delta in attracting foreign investment.

A chief official of the city said his government has introduced a series of preferential policies to help the remote city attract more foreign investment.

The policies cover areas such as taxation, land use rights, employment, bank loans and government fundings, transportation, water and electricity supplies, labour force and simplified customs procedures.

"Most of the preferential policies have specially been tailored for foreign investors who set up production facilities in Meizhou, which is known for its rich Hakka culture," the official said.

In addition to lower taxes, foreign investors will pay less for land use rights and enjoy simplified review and approval procedures if they establish foreign-funded firms and joint ventures in Meizhou, he said.

Meizhou will further lower its threshold to rev-up for investment with cities in the prosperous Pearl River Delta region, which borders Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and thus enjoy a geological advantage in using offshore investment, according to the official.

To this end, Meizhou has established three provincial level industrial development zones to help court foreign investors.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)