HAIKOU /China/, March 16. /TASS/. Hainan Free Trade Port is becoming a priority business destination for multinational companies from all over the world, Nanguo Metropolis Daily reported.
According to the newspaper, foreign companies are attracted not only by Hainan's favorable geographical location, excellent climate and optimal business environment, but also by its numerous incentives and ever-increasing degree of openness. The publication refers to official data, according to which the provincial authorities registered more than 2 thousand new business organizations with foreign capital in 2024 - 19.7% more than in the previous 12 months.
Some 149 countries and regions are investing in the island's economy, according to official data. Hainan ranks 10th among 31 regions in mainland China in terms of actual utilized investment attracted from abroad, and 7th in terms of financing projects in other countries. The island is home to the regional headquarters of more than 100 multinational companies, divisions of 77 of the world's 500 most competitive businesses.
The provincial government's market supervision department is actively implement an online system in 2025. This system will allow anyone who wants to set up a foreign-funded enterprise in Hainan in a short period of time to complete all stages of the registration process remotely. The requirement for additional documents to authenticate an applicant has also been abolished. Residents of China's Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the island of Taiwan, only need to provide an identification card and an electronic signature. At the recent annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing, the provincial delegation reaffirmed the course of internationalization. The provincial authorities expressed their intention to effectively combine resources with key growth factors and enhance the competitiveness of the region's economy.
The city of Sanya on the south coast of Hainan is becoming more and more popular among investors, its central business district has already registered about 8 thousand companies, including a division of USA's Intel, the British Swire and the French LVMH. The total income of organizations located in this business zone over the past five years has reached 493.7 billion yuan ($68.8 billion at the current exchange rate of the Chinese Central Bank).
One of the success stories is Green Chocolate Works, which was registered in the Jiangdong New Area Development Zone (in Haikou, the administrative center of Hainan) in September 2021. This company produces chocolate products from raw materials purchased in Belgium and Spain. Thanks to tax and tariff incentives, it has been able to significantly reduce costs, set up more than a dozen retail outlets on the island, and increase the value of its annual output to 80 million yuan (more than $11 million).