Another group of multinational companies started new projects, established regional headquarters and R & D centers in China.
The enthusiasm of foreign investment in China
On April 22, ExxonMobil Guangdong Huizhou Ethylene Project officially started. This total investment of 10 billion U.S. dollars is the first major petrochemical project to be solely funded by US companies in China.
It ’s not just ExxonMobil, the US-based warehousing chain supermarket opener announced the launch of its second store project in mainland China in Shanghai; Toyota of Japan plans to cooperate with FAW to invest in an electric vehicle plant in Tianjin; The member store announced that it will open a flagship store in Shanghai; Starbucks will invest USD 129 million in Kunshan, Jiangsu to build a green coffee roasting factory ...
At the same time that the argument of "withdrawing foreign capital from China" sounded again, some multinational companies have accelerated the pace of investment in China. In this regard, relevant people pointed out that the "foreign capital withdrawal theory" is completely untenable. China has not and will not have a large-scale foreign capital withdrawal situation, and it is still a hot spot for foreign investment and business development.
Overweight Chinese market
-In the first quarter, Shanghai added 10 regional headquarters of foreign-invested multinational companies; in March, the willingness to invest in Chinese-funded and Japanese-funded companies increased significantly
"The start of the project is an important milestone in the progress of ExxonMobil's major investment project in China," Wan Lifan, chairman of ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co., Ltd. said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Project will be constructed in two phases. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2023, mainly including 1.6 million tons / year ethylene cracking unit and mid-to-lower stream metallocene polyethylene, high-end polypropylene and other bulk products. When the first phase is completed and put into operation, the second phase of construction will also start. Among them, after the construction of the first phase of the project is completed, it is expected to realize operating income of 39 billion yuan per year.
Wan Lifan said that the large-scale investment and high added value of the project have strategic significance for the company and are mutually beneficial and win-win for both parties. "ExxonMobil hopes to actively participate in the Chinese manufacturing industry and use advanced technology to produce sustainable high-performance products to help meet the growing needs of Chinese customers."
Under the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, individual countries declared "let enterprises withdraw from China" and released the argument of "withdrawing foreign investment from China", but the market response was obviously more convincing.
On March 31, a major industrial project focused on signing activities was held in Shanghai. Among them, Bosch Capital Management Headquarters, Mitsubishi Corporation Metal Trading (China) Company, Sam China Flagship Store and other foreign investment projects totaled more than US $ 16 billion.
As a high-end membership-based supermarket under the retail giant Wal-Mart, Sam's Member Store has opened more than 20 stores in China, this time to further increase the Chinese market. Wen Ande, President of Sam Member Store's China business, said that China's first Sam flagship store will open in Pudong in 2021, which will also be the largest single building operated by Sam in China. "It is expected that by the end of 2022, Sam will have 40 to 45 stores open and under construction in China. We are very excited to usher in a brand new flagship store in Sam ’s fast-growing Hongtu, which represents our commitment to our members and the Chinese market. . "
Based on China and optimistic about China, foreign investors still have a strong willingness to invest in China, and new projects are speeding up.
In the first quarter of this year, Shanghai has held two centralized contracting activities for foreign-invested projects. A total of 129 foreign-invested projects have been signed, with a total investment of 23.9 billion U.S. dollars, including nearly 30 projects with an investment of more than 100 million U.S. dollars, and 10 regional headquarters for foreign-invested multinational companies 5. Five foreign-invested R & D centers.
"Whether it is a successful signing of investment intentions, or multinational companies have gathered global resources and set up headquarters in Shanghai, it fully demonstrates the determination and confidence of foreign companies to continue to be optimistic about China and Shanghai." Yang, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce Chao expressed.
Surveys from chambers of commerce also show that foreign investor confidence is gradually increasing. According to the Epidemic Impact Report of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, 75% of the companies surveyed said that regardless of the impact of the epidemic, they would not change their reinvestment plans in China. Recent surveys conducted by chambers of commerce such as the American Chamber of Commerce in China, the US-China National Trade Commission, and the Japan Trade Promotion Agency also show that since March, the production and operation of U.S.-funded and Japanese-funded enterprises have tended to improve, and their willingness to invest has increased significantly from February. The number of enterprises considering adjusting the industrial layout is very small.
"Overall, although the epidemic has a certain impact on foreign-funded enterprises in China, China has not and will not have a large-scale foreign capital withdrawal." Gao Feng, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said that facts show that China is still a hot spot for foreign investment and business development.
Business goes normal
-The rate of resumption of work by foreign-funded enterprises in China has been steadily increasing. As of April 14, 72.8% of companies have resumed production of over 70%
As China's epidemic prevention and control situation has been further consolidated and the resumption of production and production has been comprehensively promoted, the production and operation of foreign-funded enterprises in China have gradually become normal, and the completion of orders has continued to improve.
In Tianjin, FAW Toyota's production base has been busy and has been in production for more than two months. Chen Liming, general manager assistant of Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., introduced that all 487 first-tier suppliers of FAW Toyota have resumed work. The production capacity of the Tianjin base has been restored to more than 100%, and about 2,000 vehicles are off the assembly line every day.
Looking at the whole country, the resumption rate of foreign-funded enterprises in China has steadily increased. According to a survey of more than 8,700 key foreign-funded enterprises across the country by the Ministry of Commerce, as of April 14th, enterprises with a recovery rate of more than 70% accounted for 72.8%, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from last week. Among them, 98% of Japanese-funded enterprises in South China have resumed production, companies with operating rates of 100% accounted for 41.4%, companies with operating rates of 80% to 100% accounted for 42.3%, and other regions have also made positive progress in resuming work.
"The productivity in China has recovered first, which strongly supports the operation and stable development of Japanese companies. Many Japanese companies have expressed their confidence in the Chinese market and their willingness to further invest in China," Gao Feng said.
A few days ago, the headquarters of the well-known franchise chain convenience store Lawson Japan decided to increase another 200 million yuan on the basis of an increase of about 200 million yuan last year to expand investment in China. "During the epidemic, Lawson's online sales have been greatly improved, and the proportion of takeaway sales has increased. I believe this business will be a growth point in the future." Said Miyake Miyuki, President of Lawson (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
The enormous resilience displayed by the Chinese economy, especially the gradual release of China's market potential, has effectively boosted foreign investors' confidence and expectations of Chinese investment against the backdrop of the global spread of the current epidemic and the grim world economic situation.
Under the epidemic, L'Oréal China's CEO Fibre pointed out that under the epidemic, the company's sales model has undergone new changes. Many brands have allowed consumers to shop "without leaving the house" through live broadcasts. After the outbreak, the Chinese market is expected to usher in a rebound. "At present, the company is actively preparing for the participation in the third Expo."
Headquartered in Finland, Valmet is the world's leading developer and supplier of the pulp, paper and energy industries. "After the outbreak, China's domestic equipment orders have actually increased, but we expect our business in China to increase this year," said Zhu Xiangdong, president of Valmet China.
"Previously, 95% of the company's products were exported, but overseas epidemics continued to spread and orders fell. We are discussing with the Korean headquarters to explore the domestic market of South Korea and China." Wenxian, deputy general manager of the Korean-owned company Qingdao Disiya Steel Co., Ltd. said Not long ago, the company opened an account on the Chinese social media platform Douyin to increase online promotion efforts. "Although the account opening time is not long, there are many people in the industry who are concerned. I believe it will have a good effect if it is continued."
Welcome foreign investment to China
-China will continue to optimize the foreign investment environment and increase the level of foreign investment liberalization and facilitation
Foreign companies come to China to invest and start businesses. China's attitude and actions are clear: support!
From the project reserve to the inclusion of the plan to the approval of the use of marine land, the ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Project completed the key approval items in just over a year and achieved a smooth start of construction, which ran out of "China Speed".
"The reason why Huizhou Daya Bay is chosen for investment is that in addition to Daya Bay Development Zone being one of the seven petrochemical industry bases in the country, with good infrastructure and public facilities, there is also a good business environment here, and the formulation and implementation of policies and regulations are transparent and clear. The government operates efficiently and strongly supports the development of foreign investment. "Wan Lifan said.
Since the outbreak, the localities have continuously strengthened the services of foreign-funded enterprises: Jiangsu has established a three-level service coordination mechanism at the provincial, municipal, and county (district) levels to coordinate and promote the simultaneous resumption of work for supporting companies of Honeywell, LG Chem, and other multinational companies; Shandong Xiang21 Several provinces and cities sent letters requesting assistance in resumption of work, "point-to-point" tracking and promotion of 202 supporting enterprises in 45 foreign-funded enterprises in the province; Guangdong has closely followed up with BASF, ExxonMobil, CNOOC Shell, etc. to discuss key projects under construction. Accelerate the project process; Shanghai this year conducted a full-coverage visit to the regional headquarters of more than 700 multinational companies, contacted nearly 70% of foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai, and helped to solve problems in epidemic prevention materials, coordinated resumption of upstream and downstream work, logistics and transportation, financing needs, etc ...
Yuan Da, director of the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, pointed out that he will continue to do a good job of stabilizing foreign investment, further promote the resumption of foreign investment projects and enterprises, focus on helping to solve the difficulties and obstacles of resumption of production, and promote the coordinated resumption of production on the industrial chain. The various aid policies are equally applicable to domestic and foreign enterprises. For qualified major foreign investment projects in manufacturing and service industries, they will be included in the scope of coordination of special foreign investment projects in accordance with procedures; on the basis of the implementation of the first three major foreign investment projects, the fourth batch of major foreign investment projects will be launched this year; Key provinces and cities have established and perfected special-level mechanisms for major foreign-invested projects at the local level to comprehensively improve the service level of foreign-invested projects.
"It is necessary to be based on the present, but also consider the long-term." Zhang Jianping, director of the Regional Economic Cooperation Research Center of the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that while proposing specific measures for the current outstanding problems faced by foreign companies, it should also focus on More stable measures have been taken to stabilize foreign investment, including promoting higher levels of opening up and optimizing the foreign investment environment.
A few days ago, the Ministry of Commerce launched 24 measures to stabilize foreign investment, and it is clear that it will accelerate the revision of the national negative list of foreign investment access, further reduce entries, and expand the opening of financial and other service industries; the introduction of the 2020 version of the catalogue for encouraging foreign investment, further expanding the scope of encouraging foreign investment Accelerate the construction of open highlands in the Pilot Free Trade Zone, and promote the introduction of policies and measures to further expand openness and innovative development; strictly implement the "Foreign Investment Law" and its implementation regulations, and comprehensively abolish all levels of commercial authorities at all levels regarding the establishment and changes of foreign-invested enterprises Approval or filing to further enhance the level of foreign investment liberalization and facilitation.
"We will continue to promote the opening up to the outside world, continue to optimize the business environment, further enhance the confidence of foreign investors in long-term investment and operation in China, stabilize the stocks and promote the increase in volume, and do our best to stabilize foreign investment this year." Gao Feng said.
Our reporter Qiu Haifeng