Guangdong - Zhuhai Free Trade Zone

Zhuhai Free Trade Zone    

Facts and Figures (2007)

Source: Administration Committee of Zhuhai Free Trade Zone

Introduction

Zhuhai Free Trade Zone (Zhuhai FTZ) is located in the south of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, which was ranked the largest economy in China in terms of GDP in 2007. Zhuhai is among five special economic zones in China (Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Hainan, Xiamen and Shantou), which have successfully applied for special economic policies and flexible government measures.

The park won approval from the State Council to be a state-level development zone in 1996, with a designed area of 3 km². It commenced official operation in 1999.

Zhuhai FTZ faces Macau across the sea. It is only 10 km from Macau International Airport and Macau Port, and has convenient traffic systems. It is 30 km from Zhuhai Airport, 45 km from Zhuhai Port and 36 nautical miles from Hong Kong Port. Zhuhai Airport offers seventy-six domestic and international routes weekly. In 2006, Zhuhai Airport started cooperation with Hong Kong Airport and acts as a supporting cargo-transportation airport for Hong Kong Airport. Zhuhai Port handled 37.1 million tons of cargo and 0.6 million TEUs of containers in 2007. Guangzhou-Zhuhai Highway and Beijing-Zhuhai Highway intersect in the zone. It takes within two hours’ drive from the zone to all the major cities in the Pearl River Delta.

Investment Climate

Zhuhai Free Trade Zone encourages investments in warehousing, logistics and export-processing industries. In 2007, the industrial added value from enterprises with designated size and above rose 11.7% year-on-year to RMB 1.3 billion, comprising 2.8% of that of Zhuhai.

The foreign-trade value in the zone had increased by 25.5% year-on-year to US$1.2 billion in 2007. The export value of the zone grew 31.3% year-on-year to US$504 million in 2007, while the import value from the zone climbed up 21.6% from a year ago to US$680 million.

By 2007, more than one-hundred and fifty enterprises from twenty countries and regions had established businesses in the zone. The utilized FDI in the zone had accumulated to over US$1 billion by the end of 2007. Large investors in the zone include MTU, EPCOS, Oplink, Coloplast, SCHMID, Tyco Electronics, ProLogis, Canon and many domestic firms, such as Mingde Logistics and Zhuhai Flight.

The U.S.-based Oplink invested a total of US$50 million into an optical cable-production base in Zhuhai FTZ in 1999, and has employed over one-hundred engineers in Zhuhai. The annual output value in the Zhuhai unit is around US$150 million. 

Prologis Gree Logistics Park, situated in Zhuhai FTZ, commenced construction in 2008. It was jointly invested in by the U.S.-based Prologis and Zhuhai-based Gree, a large home appliances-maker, with total planned investments of US$99 million. With a planned area of 387,800 m², it is expected to be the largest logistics park in Zhuhai after its completion in 2009.