Guangzhou - Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone

Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone (including Guangzhou Nansha Export Processing Zone)

Facts&Figures (2007)

Source: Statistic Bureau of Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone 

Introduction

Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone (Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ) was approved as a state-level development zone by the State Council in 1993. It covers a total planned area of 27.6 km².

Guangzhou Nansha Export Processing Zone (Guangzhou Nansha EPZ), located within the Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ, won approval to become a state-level development zone in 2005. With a designated area of 1.4 km², the processing zone commenced official operations in 2007. Guangzhou Nansha EPZ is the second export processing zone in Guangzhou after Guangzhou Export Processing Zone.

Guangzhou ETDZ is located in Nansha District in the southern part of Guangzhou (capital city of Guangdong Province). Guangzhou’s city center is 54 km away. Guangzhou is the center of the Pearl River Delta, and all major cities of the delta are within a 1.5-hour drive. The zone is a mere 71 km from Hong Kong and 75 km from Macau.

Seven airports are within a 60 km radius of Nansha. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Shenzhen Huangtian Airport are 54 km and 70 km away from Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ. Nansha Port is an important part of Guangzhou Port, the third largest port on the mainland (in terms of cargo traffic in 2007). In 2007, Nansha Port handled 4.55 million TEUs, nearly half of Guangzhou Port's total cargo throughput. The Xiaohu Berth (a berth specializing in chemicals and chemical products) has the capacity to handle 12.36 million tons of cargo yearly. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Zhuhai Expressway and the Humen Bridge, connecting Humen in Dongguan and Nansha in Guangzhou, are also close to the zone.

Investment Climate

Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ encourages investments in plastics, chemicals, electronics, food processing, shipbuilding and other high-tech industries, while Guangzhou Nansha EPZ encourages investments in IT, optoelectronics, precision machinery and home electrical appliances industries.

In 2007, the GDP from Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ (including Nansha EPZ) rose 45.5% year on year to RMB 30.6 billion, contributing 4.3% to Guangzhou’s total. Additionally, the gross industrial output from the two zones increased by 78.8% from a year earlier to RMB 85.3 billion, accounting for 8.6% of Guangzhou's total.

The automobile and related industries have developed into mainstream industries in Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ. In 2007, the gross industrial output from this sector sky-rocketed by 163% to RMB 46.1 billion, contributing 54.8% of the two zones' total gross industrial output from enterprises with designated size and above.

Japan-based Toyota is a major investor in the zone. Guangzhou Toyota Motor Co. Ltd, a joint venture between Guangzhou Automobile and Toyota Motor Corp, was set up in 2004 in Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ with a registered capital of RMB 1.3 billion. The venture involved total investments of RMB 3.8 billion. In 2007 alone, it produced 170,000 ‘Camry’ sedans in Nansha ETDZ.

Within the same year, Guangzhou ETDZ (including Nansha EPZ) attracted thirty-one foreign-invested projects with contractual foreign investments totaling US$717 million. The utilized FDI hit US$529 million, representing an increment of 15.7% from the year before.

By 2007, there were forty projects funded by Fortune 500 enterprises in Nansha ETDZ. Besides Toyota, other major investors in the zone include BASF, GM, JFE, Mitsubishi, Meiko, Lonza and large domestic firms such as China State Shipbuilding Corp, China Erzhong, Dongfang Electric, Guangzhou Iron & Steel, Dongling Group and Liby.

Five Fortune 500 enterprises established businesses in Nansha EPZ. They included Japan-based Hitachi and Idemitsu.

Dongfang Electric Group, established in 1984 in Chengdu, is a large manufacturer of generating equipment. In 2004, it launched Dongfang Electric (Guangzhou) Heavy Machinery Co. Ltd in Guangzhou Nansha ETDZ with a total investment of RMB 1.2 billion. The unit specializes in manufacturing nuclear pressure equipment, petrochemical containers and other heavy equipment.