Guangdong - Shenzhen Export Processing Zone

Shenzhen Export Processing Zone  

Facts and Figures (2007)

Source: Administration Committee of Shenzhen Export Processing Zone   

Introduction

Shenzhen Export Processing Zone (Shenzhen EPZ) was among the first batch of state-level export processing zones approved by the State Council in 2000, and covers a designated area of 3 km².  It is the only export processing zone in Shenzhen. The zone commenced official operation in 2001, and is located within the Shenzhen Grand Industrial Zone in Longgang District in the north-east of Shenzhen. Longgang District borders Huizhou and Dongguan to the north.

Shenzhen EPZ is within one-and-a-half hour's drive to Shenzhen Port, Shenzhen Railway Station and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport is the fourth-largest airport in terms of freight traffic. In 2007, it handled 616,172 tons of freight, up 10.2% over the previous year. The airport currently offers one-hundred and fifty-six international and domestic airlines weekly, connecting the city with a further eighty major cities in the world. Shenzhen Railway Station offers daily routes to Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha, Shantou and other cities in China. Shenzhen Port, adjacent to Hong Kong, handled 21.1 million TEUs in 2007, ranking as the fourth-busiest port in the world in terms of container throughput. 

Investment Climate

By the end of 2007, Shenzhen EPZ had attracted forty-seven enterprises from thirteen countries and regions to invest in the zone. The foreign investments accumulated to US$639 million by the end of 2007, while the utilized FDI added up US$214 million. Major investors in the zone include SMIC, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Electrical & Electronics Corp, et cetera.

In 2007, the industrial added value from Shenzhen EPZ rose 55.6% year-on-year to RMB 3 billion, accounting for 1% of Shenzhen's total. The zone has developed electronics, information technology and equipment manufacturing as its major industries. It also encourages investments in home electrical appliances-manufacturing sectors.

The gross industrial output from the electronics and information technology industry soared 121.8% from a year ago to RMB 7.2 billion, accounting for 57.6% of the total gross industrial output value from Shenzhen EPZ.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. was set up in 2004. The firm invested a total of US$500 million into a storage device-production base in the zone. The initial stage of the base, covering an area of 35,000 m², was inaugurated in 2005.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC), a Shanghai-based semiconductor-maker, launched an 8-inch and a 12-inch IC production line in the zone in January, 2008. The initial stage of the production line, involving investments of US$1.58 billion, is scheduled for completion in 2009.

In 2007, the foreign-trade value of the export zone was US$2 billion, up 43.9% year-on-year. The export value of the zone rose 58% to US$1.3 billion in 2007, while the import value of the zone increased by 25.1% year-on-year to US$747 million in the same period.