Hainan's Sanya prepares new measures for boosting consumer tourism

 HAIKOU, November 17. The Sanya authorities are stepping up work on an international consumption zone and on the eve of the 14th five-year plan (2021-2025) are preparing a new set of measures to improve the quality of tourism products, reported the local administration.

 

"Sanya is constantly modernizing local businesses, creating new products and adopting promising methods for this. They contribute to the formation of a busier consumer tourism program, boost more intensive development of the entire industry," said in a statement released by the regional department of culture and tourism."We are preparing new tourist products and destinations for recreation, including those capable of satisfying the needs of wealthy and sophisticated tourists". 

 

According to the department, the qualitative growth of Hainan's entire tourism industry depends on the successful development of consumer recreation.

 

"Since July, our island has begun to implement a new strategy on duty free shopping. As a result, in three months, that is, by October 31, sales in local duty free shops exceeded 12 billion yuan (about $ 1.8 billion at the current exchange rate), three times exceeding last year's figure," the Sanya Daily quoted a representative of the regional administration as saying.

 

According to the official, the Hainan authorities create favorable conditions for the development of not only large duty free stores, where one can find the maximum possible list of prestigious goods, but also relatively small duty free shops located in hotels and airports, on the territory of so-called zones of landscape tourism. In addition, small centers are being set up in some districts away from busy streets and densely populated areas, housing products of famous Chinese and foreign brands in great demand. Thanks to a flexible system of discounts, tourists and locals are offered expensive, prestigious goods at much lower prices than usual.

 

One of these specialized consumer zones has been recently set up in the city of Wanning on the southeastern coast of the province: on an area of ​​only 1,000 square meters, consumers can find the product they need by making a choice from a list that includes more than 45 types of luxury accessories and over 300 world famous brands.

 

Boosting consumption during the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020) 

 

According to periodically updated statistics, over the past five years, Sanya has made notable progress in the development of duty free trade. According to Chinese experts, this is happening due to a gradual diversification of the service sector, when the preferences of various categories of buyers are taken into account. For example, people interested in purchasing wedding accessories.

 

Local media report that the city continues to take into consideration the advanced experience of developed Western countries, stimulating the development of rather narrow areas of consumer tourism. Including through the creation of professional organizations that protect the interests of companies of a particular profile. "In 2019 alone, associations of businesses specializing in family and wedding tourism, as well as e-commerce companies trading in tourism products, were set up in Sanya. A total of 11 new associations were created," the local administration noted. "During the five-year plan as a whole, we managed to establish sectoral organizations and social mechanisms that take into account key tasks of state administration."

 

In addition, according to official figures, in recent years, Sanya has seen progress in the field of yacht and cruise tourism. A significant breakthrough was recorded in such a promising service sector that stimulates employment growth as night markets.

 

In April 2018, President Xi Jinping said that the Chinese authorities intend to actively involve Hainan in globalization and to draw foreign investors to the island province. By 2050, according to the authorities, the island should become a unique international cluster with an advanced economy, developed tourism, top-notch scientific, technical and financial potential, and modern medicine. The branches of the best universities and offices of the most powerful corporations in the world will be located on the Island of Hainan. 

 

 

Over 200 companies invested in Sanya's remote sensing park

 SANYA, November 25. More than 200 companies have started operations in the industrial park of remote sensing data in Hainan's Sanya, reported the Hainan Daily newspaper.

According to the newspaper, a thematic forum on space issues, as well as the development of satellites, was recently held on Hainan. As part of the event, a number of companies signed an agreement with a remote sensing data industrial park in Sanya.

"We decided to invest in the Sanya City Remote Sensing Industrial Park for several reasons," Bai Yiwei, Chairman of the Board of Xian Huanyu Satellite Control and Data Application Co, was quoted as saying. "Firstly, it is the region's good ecology and the island's favorable geographical location. And secondly, these are the advantages that Hainan's free trade port will provide in the future," he explained.

Bai Yiwei also noted that "in the future, Hainan will become one of the key places in the space industry." In addition, the manager said, "Since the publication of the program for the construction of the island's free trade port, local authorities have made even more efforts to improve and develop a top-notch business environment on the island." “It is for these reasons that we decided to start work in the Sanya Industrial Park,” Bai Yiwei summed up.

The Sanya City Remote Sensing Data Industrial Park was founded in August 2016 by the Institute for Remote Sensing and Digital Earth Modeling, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Hainan and Sanya City governments. It aims to research and develop satellites using remote sensing technologies in areas such as sea surface monitoring, fisheries, natural disasters, and maritime tourism. The industrial park includes both scientific facilities and tourist and entertainment zones. At the time of the opening of the complex, it housed about 30 companies.

The authorities presented a plan for the free trade port’s development on June, 1. In accordance with the plan, the Hainan province will be turned into a special customs zone. The country’s government intends in general to wrap up the creation of the free trade port on the island by 2025: by this time the island should acquire a system to ensure free trade and investments. 

By 2035, the free trade port and its model will become more solid. By this time, Hainan intends to ensure the freedom of trade and investments, trans-border movement of capital, people and shipping.  

By 2025, the Chinese government intends to create an "international center for tourism and consumption" on Hainan. In order to do so, the "Eastern Hawaii" with their unique natural landscapes, thick rainforests and great climate will establish a developed network of hotels, which blend perfectly with white sandy beaches stretching along the coastline. The combination of an exotic subtropical nature and a modern eco-friendly infrastructure will boost tourist inflow to the island from the most distant parts of the world.  

 

 

China's Chamber of Commerce presents Hainan's free trade port to foreign partners

 HAIKOU, November 26. /TASS/.​​​​​​ ​​The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (Chamber of Commerce) invited representatives of 15 foreign trade associations located in China to Hainan to find out more the economic prospects of the free trade port, reported the Hainan Daily newspaper.

 

The foreign delegation of 20 people was led by the chairman of the council Gao Yan. The guests who arrived in the Hainan province represent the trade interests of Russia, US, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Mexico, and other countries. During the three-day visit, they will attend conferences dedicated to promoting Hainan's port preferential policies, business investment opportunities, and economic and trade cooperation.

In addition, representatives of foreign trade associations will visit Hainan's key industrial parks: the science city of Yazhou Bay and the central business district in Sanya, as well as the new Jiangdong district in the provincial center, Haikou. Thus, they will be able to find out more about the development of the tourism industry on the island, the modern service industry and the high-tech sector, the publication specifies.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade plans to continue to work closely with the Hainan government and promote the prosperity of the free trade port. Both sides expressed their intention to sign a memorandum on deepening cooperation.

In recent years, the provincial government has made active efforts to improve the attractiveness of Hainan to international investors. A new stage started after the publication of the general program for the development of the free trade port in June. According to this document, Hainan will be turned into a special customs zone. According to the plans of the Chinese government, by 2050 this region should turn into a unique international cluster with an advanced economic system, where university campuses, scientific laboratories and the headquarters of world corporations.

 

 

Which Hainan Free Trade Port “First” are You Most Interested In?

 Since the publication of The Master Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port on June 1, the entire province has been working hard and opening up new areas for innovation, and many new policies have been implemented. We’ve put together a  list of Hainan Free Trade Port “Firsts” covering a wide variety of areas.

 

On June 1, The Master Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port was published.

 

On June 14, the first ship registered at China’s Yangpu Port set sail.

 

In July, the first transaction was carried out in the Hainan Free Trade Port Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of Trade Facilitation Pilot Area.

 

On Sept. 23, Hainan issued the first Cruise Port Sea Route Pilot Area operating license.

 

On Sept. 28, Hainan’s first intercontinental overseas shipping route opened.

 

On Sept. 29, Hainan’s first cross-border finance blockchain service platform capital project verification audit service opened.

On Oct. 10, lung cancer targeting medication Gavreto (Pralsetinib) was prescribed in the Bo’ao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, the first time this drug was prescribed outside of its approval country.

 

On Oct. 15, the first domestic aircraft leasing project in the Hainan Free Trade Zone opened in Haikou.

 

On Oct. 21, Hainan’s first "direct boat-side unloading" service opened in Yangpu.

On Oct. 25, the Bo’ao Airport became China’s first county-level airport to open routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

On Oct. 26, Hainan’s first Agrobiodiversity Global Environment Protection Fund Project was launched.

 

On Oct. 29, Hainan’s first local China United Lines opened the first international container shipping route in Yangpu.

 

On Nov. 8, the Hainan Free Trade Port’s first completely intercontinental cargo shipping route opened.

On Nov. 13, Yangpu completed the first 1210 e-commerce bonded cross-border shopping transaction.

 

China plans to establish a QDLP Pilot Zone in the Hainan FTP

 China is steadily expanding its number of QDLP (Qualified Domestic Limited Partner) Pilot Zones, and plans to establish QDLP Pilot Zones in both the Hainan Free Trade Port and in Chongqing to better support the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle.

 

(Note: Qualified Domestic Limited Partner refers to those permitted to register overseas, invest in overseas market hedge funds, raise RMB funds from domestic investors, and invest these funds in overseas markets.) 

 

Besides, in September, the first QFLP (Qualified Foreign Limited Partner) fund of the Hainan Free Trade Port introduced by the Bank of Communications was put fully in place with 99.98 million US dollars, marking a new stage of the operation of Hainan QFLP funds.

 

On October 26, interim measures on launching domestic equity investment for qualified foreign limited partners (QFLP) were issued in Hainan. 

 

(Note: QFLP means that a foreign enterprise can participate in the establishment of a foreign-invested enterprise with equity investment, raising funds from home and abroad privately, and participate in equity investment of domestic non-listed companies, so as to further facilitate the inbound investment of overseas institutions.)

Sanya authorities report better conditions for investors on Hainan

 Hainan's Sanya has been able to significantly improve the atmosphere for foreign investors over the past six months thanks to new measures implemented in accordance with the General Program of Hainan's Free Trade Port, announcedthe provincial party committee on Friday.

 

According to a statement obtained by TASS, recently Sanya has managed to "create new levers to stimulate development, to speed up intensive economic growth." Among the key areas in which the city has demonstrated particularly notable success in attracting foreign capital are the sector of innovation and advanced technologies, cruise and yacht business, financial services and modern types of commerce.

 

"Thanks to the improvement of the business climate and the rapid concentration of resources, the Sanya administration managed to ensure high efficiency and stability of the investors' activities," the authorities said.

 

Progress over the past six months

According to the document, in early June, the Sanya authorities announced the creation of 11 key economic development zones, including the Yazhouvan science city and the central business district. At the end of the same month, a government recommendation was issued to make it easier to draw highly skilled workers, giving this top-notch resort in China a number of additional employment benefits.

 

Sanya has also taken an active part in the government's investment promotion program, regularly holding one-off ceremonies for a number of billions of dollars in key infrastructure projects. Thus, the city was able to boost the development of aviation industry, modern agriculture, the sphere of international cultural and humanitarian contacts, finance, deep-water research, advanced technologies and clean energy. Companies on the list of world's 500 most competitive commercial organizations took part in the implementation of those projects.

 

In August, the Sanya authorities set up an experimental cross-border commerce zone that is expected to dramatically enhance Hainan's international trade profile. A month earlier, the first financial platform to stimulate the development of enterprises using blockchain technology was set up there.

 

The city administration made a big breakthrough in the field of duty free shopping: in 2020 alone, Sanya announced the opening of three more big duty free stores. In addition, at a Shanghai expo in November, strategic partnership agreements were concluded with companies from more than 20 countries, representing globally recognized brands.

 

It is expected that thanks to these, as well as a whole list of other stimulating measures, Sanya will significantly improve the service sector by the end of 2021, form a highly effective investment control system, optimize the business climate and "reach an advanced level among other regions of China."

 

In April 2018, President Xi Jinping said that the Chinese authorities intend to actively involve Hainan in globalization and to draw foreign investors to the island province. By 2050, according to the authorities, the island should become a unique international cluster with an advanced economy, developed tourism, top-notch scientific, technical and financial potential, and modern medicine. The branches of the best universities and offices of the most powerful corporations in the world will be located on the Island of Hainan.

 

Hainan's capital to boost development of an ideal business climate

 Hainan's capital Haikou will introduce a number of innovative measures to create a top-notch business environment in the region, the provincial party committee announced on Monday.

 

"Haikou is constantly at the forefront. <...> We expect that under its influence, Hainan's other cities and counties will make a new leap forward and create a first-class climate for business," says the statement obtained by TASS.

 

It emphasizes that the Haikou authorities will "continually promote innovation, unleash its multifaceted potential," and "directly contribute to lay a solid foundation" for improving the business environment across the island. It is expected that by 2025 the city will become one of the most attractive places for investors in China.

 

Plans for the future

As the authorities specified, in the near future the Haikou administration plans to use means that will ensure intensive economic growth of the entire province. After the General Program for the Development of Hainan's Free Trade Port was published on June 1, the authorities, in accordance with the strategy of the Chinese State Council, began to boost the liberalization process even more actively, while simultaneously working to improve control mechanisms.

 

The city is offering incentive bonuses of 15 million yuan (about $ 2.3 million) for high-profile companies that are promoting the introduction of the latest manufacturing technologies and planning an initial public offering on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. In addition, a wide range of benefits and privileges has been drafted aimed at creating new growth factors. Thanks to them, the government intends to draw companies that can play a key stimulating role in the development of the entire Island of Hainan in the long run.

 

Small business support in Haikou is being implemented through the introduction of new financing models. They make it possible to more accurately assess the risks of lending by organizing close interaction between the banking sector and a number of government agencies, which help to provide an objective assessment of enterprises in need of loans.

 

Haikou is one of the 11 strategically important zones of the regional free trade port, where the "unified system" is actively implemented in the investors' cooperation with the authorities. A multidisciplinary service platform has been created in the city, which allows entrepreneurs to relieve most of the worries related to registering a company, obtaining competent legal advice, finding a suitable location for an office and employees' apartments, hiring employees, protecting intellectual property, listing on the stock market. All of these services are provided in both Chinese and English. Thanks to this mechanism, businessmen can organize an efficient production process on Hainan in the shortest time possible.

 

The new district of Jiangdong continues to play a particularly important role in attracting investors this year, which, according to official data, has attracted about 3, 000 additional companies to Haikou. This includes many of the world's most competitive commercial enterprises.

"Without successful projects, there is no successful development, and dynamic growth is impossible without big facilities," the local administration explained the principles of selecting key investors.

 

Hainan's development program

The implementation of all these measures is carried out in accordance with the state program, according to which by 2025 an effective mechanism to stimulate sustainable and long-term growth should be set up on Hainan. It is expected that thanks to new methods, many of which are being introduced in China for the first time, the province will be able to fulfill a number of key socio-economic tasks necessary for the formation of a powerful new financial and economic center in the south of the country. It is expected that by 2035 both the economic and innovation potential of this region will maximize, and it will become one of the most attractive places for international investors.

 

In April 2018, President Xi Jinping said that the Chinese authorities intend to actively involve Hainan in globalization and to draw foreign investors to the island province. By 2050, according to the authorities, the island should become a unique international cluster with an advanced economy, developed tourism, top-notch scientific, technical and financial potential, and modern medicine. The branches of the best universities and offices of the most powerful corporations in the world will be located on the Island of Hainan.