Fengxian enhances business environment to attract overseas investment
Officials jointly launch a promotional season for global investment in Fengxian on Friday.
Fourteen overseas companies signed agreements to invest in Shanghai's Fengxian District on Friday, which aims to become a magnet for overseas investors.
The new projects cover industries such as beauty and health, intelligent manufacturing, biomedicine and medical apparatus.
They include the Italian cosmetics giant Intercos, which plans to set up a China trade headquarters in Fengxian's Zhuanghang Town.
"Since we began our investment factory in Fengxian in 2007, the output value of our small factory has gradually exceeded 300 million yuan (US$44 million) in over 10 years," said Stephane Tsassis, CEO of Intercos China and Southeast Asia.
"We hope to promote the Oriental Beauty Valley to be more international, and at the same time make our trade bigger and stronger," Tsassis said.
The valley in the suburban district has gathered a third of Shanghai's cosmetics firms, with an industrial scale of nearly 70 billion yuan.
Leading Chinese cosmetic brands such as Jala, Pechoin, Chicmax and Marie Dalgar have manufacturing centers or marketing headquarters at the park, which aims to be on par with France's Cosmetic Valley in Eure-et-Loir and Loiret, and Japan's Saito Life Science Park in Osaka.
Hong Kong-based Millennium Healthcare China Hightech plans to build a new scientific innovation park in Fengxian as its regional headquarters with a total investment of over US$1 billion.
The company aims to become a leading company in the national medical device innovation strategy and a demonstration base for high-end medical equipment, said Mao Rende, Millennium Healthcare's China chairman and CEO.
A bird's-eye view of the Oriental Beauty Valley in suburban Fengxian District
"At least three unicorn listed firms will emerge from the innovation base within five years," Mao said.
Melaleuca is among the foreign businesses that have doubled down on their investments in the district.
After initially setting up its business in 2003, Melaleuca began construction on its China headquarters in Fengxian in 2019 with a US$150 million investment to expand key functions, including research and development, manufacturing and logistics.
Fengxian has developed four specialty industries on beauty and health, automobile, digital economy and advanced material, Li Lei, the vice director of Fengxian, told representatives of overseas companies.
The district launched a promotional season on Friday to attract overseas investors.
Fengxian is currently home to over 4,000 overseas companies, which account for 1 percent of the total number of Fengxian-based companies, but contribute nearly a third of Fengxian's tax revenue, Li said.
"We will create the best business environment for overseas firms and welcome more investors to Fengxian," Li told the launching ceremony of the promotion season.
