Jiangsu - China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (Including Export Processing Zone)

China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (Including Export Processing Zone)

Facts&Figures (2007)

Source: China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park

Introduction

China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (Suzhou IP) was built in Suzhou in 1994.The core district, covering an area of 80 km², was co-developed by the Chinese and Singaporean governments.

The park lies only 6 km from the city center. Suzhou itself is about 80 km from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, 120 km from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and 200 km from Nanjing Airport. The Beijing-Shanghai Railway goes through the city. The Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway, scheduled for construction in 2008 to be operational by 2010, will shorten the driving time from Shanghai to Suzhou to 20 minutes.

It is also accessible by water. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the longest manmade canal in the world, goes through Suzhou and connects the city with Hangzhou. Shanghai Port lies only 100 km away. With cargo traffic reaching 560 million tons, it is easily China’s largest port, Zhangjiagang Port, Taicang Port and Changshu Port, three of the major parts of Suzhou Port, are 96 km, 70 km and 60 km away. In 2007, the cargo traffic of Suzhou Port hit 184 million tons and container throughput reached 1.9 million TEUs.

There are 18 univeristies in Suzhou, including Suzhou University and Suzhou Technology Universities. To meet investor demand for senior skilled workers, Suzhou IP has set up its own training center-Institute of Vocational Technology. The Institute fully adopts Singapore's Nanyang Polytechnics' techniques in vocational education.

Investment Climate

Co-developed by Singapore, Suzhou IP is infused with the Singaporean management style. Under the master plan, it is free to adapt or adopt the urban township concept and management practices of Singapore and other countries. It is the only project in China that involves comprehensive "software" transfer. Such transfers include master planning, investment promotion and public administrative policy, all geared towards creating a pro-business environment.

Suzhou IP consists of the Suzhou Export Processing Zone, a biotech and nanotech park and an international sci-tech park. The park encourages the development of electronics, mechanical-electronic integration, pharmaceuticals, fine chemical, precision engineering and new material industries.

In 2007, GDP of the park increased 21.5% year-on-year to RMB 83.6 billion, accounting for 14.7% of Suzhou’s total. It ranked third among all the state-level economic and technological development zones. The total industrial output from the enterprises with the designated size and above (the manufacturing enterprises with sales revenue exceeding RMB 5 million and the commercial enterprises with sale revenue surpassing RMB 2 milion) amounted to RMB 208.6 billion, 50.5% of which can be attributed to the telecom equipment, computer and other electronic equipment manufacturing industries. As one of China’s manufacturing hubs for LCD panels and ICs, the output value of the IT and IC industries contributed nearly 3% and 16% of China’s total.

In 2007, its foreign trade value hit US$56.9 billion, accounting for 26.7% of Suzhou’s total, while its export value exceeded US$28.5 billion, 24.1% of the city’s total. The mainstream export products include electronic products (US$10 billion), machinery equipment and parts (US$9.8 billion) and optical, examination and medical equipment (US$6.5 billion), which in total accounted for over 92.4% of the total export value. The export value of software alone amounted to US$520 million, accounting for nearly 40% of Jiangsu’s total software export value.

By the end of 2007, over 3,101 foreign-invested projects had been approved, causing the FDI to rise to US$24.7 billion and the utilized FDI to surpass US$13.4 billion. In 2007 alone, the FDI level was US$4.8 billion and the utilized FDI stood at US$1.8 billion, accounting for 29.5% and 24.3% of Suzhou’s totals respectively. It ranked second among all the state-level development zones in terms of utilized FDI. It has attracted companies such as Siemens, Nokia, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Daimler Chrysler, BP and ZF, to make investments there.