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HK and Xiamen step up business cooperation

By Lillian Liu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-11-17 13:14

Some 22 investment projects totaling $1.06 billion were confirmed by both Xiamen and Hong Kong companies at an investment promotion conference in Hong Kong Monday.

The projects come from a wide range of sectors including new energy, energy saving, biological engineering, optical electronics, environmental protection, food processing, logistics and tourism, according to Xiamen government officials.

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"More investment co-operation between the two cities will be brought to the table by the end of this year or early next year," Yu Weiguo, party chief of the Xiamen committee, told reporters at a press briefing.

"Hong Kong companies have long been making important investments in Xiamen. We welcome more companies to invest in Xiamen," Yu.added.

Yu said Xiamen must improve and upgrade the city's business and industrial structure and without advanced industries, the city's economic development will become "empty talk".

Xiamen is also striving to expand urban development to its long-isolated outlying islands. "The center of Xiamen has been well-developed over the years, but its development has formed a gap with the outlying islands in Xiamen," Yu explained. "To achieve sustainable development, we must integrate the center Xiamen with its outlying islands."

Enhanced transportation helps improve Xiang'an's attractiveness as a destination for investment, Xiamen's government officials said. Some western companies, giant state-owned enterprises and Hong Kong-funded companies are now showing an interest in sharing the success of the district's development, after having noticed how the local government has paved the way for inbound investment, the officials added.

Mingfa Group, a leading property developer in Xiamen, raised HK$2 billion earlier this month in a Hong Kong initial public offering, according to reports.