HAIKOU, June 9. /TASS/. The number of newly established enterprises with foreign capital in China's Haikou (the administrative center of Hainan) in January-April 2021 reached 382, ​​which is 454% higher compared to the same period last year, reported the Haikou Daily. 

According to the newspaper, the volume of actual use of foreign investments in the city's economy in the first four months of the year amounted to $ 496 million, which is 84.3% higher year on year. The key areas for foreign investment were the service sector, as well as retail, venture capital funds, and consulting and research industries.

As the newspaper writes, a significant increase in the number of enterprises with foreign capital in Haikou is seen due to the implementation of the program for the construction of a free trade port on the Island of Hainan and the promotion of a number of preferential policies for foreign investors.

By the end of 2020, more than 600 new enterprises with foreign capital were set up in Haikou. The actual use of foreign investment in the city's economy has reached $ 1.72 billion.

On June 1, 2020 the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council published a program for Hainan's free trade port. The document provides for the creation of a special customs zone on this tropical island. The Chinese authorities plan to complete the construction of a free port on the territory of the province in general in 2025, by which time a system for ensuring free trade and investment should be ensured on the island. By 2035, it is planned to ensure freedom of trade and investment, cross-border movement of capital, people, and freight traffic on Hainan.