General

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, on June 6, SP Group Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Temasek, announced the construction of a large-scale green energy power station integrating photovoltaic power generation and agricultural planting in Dabu County, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province. The total installed capacity of this project is 78MWp, and it is expected to be fully connected to the grid within 7 months.

SP Group Group said that the Chinese market is a very important part of the group's long-term development strategic planning. After the completion of the project, it will not only be conducive to the construction of modern and efficient agriculture and the high-quality development of green Low-carbon economy in Meizhou Dapu area, but also is expected to become a demonstration project of photovoltaic power generation and new energy investment in the Pearl River Delta region, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

Recently, foreign executives have competed to visit China, and foreign companies have also taken frequent actions to increase their holdings in China, resulting in a broader investment field. PPG, a globally renowned supplier of coatings and special materials, has invested $30 million in the establishment and operation of an innovative application center for electric vehicles and intelligent transportation in Tianjin; Siemens Healthineers invested more than 1 billion yuan in Shenzhen base to deepen localization strategy; AstraZeneca has invested about 450 million dollars to build a new drug production and supply base in the field of respiratory diseases in Qingdao

From the new round of investment layout, it can be seen that foreign-funded enterprises still have a positive outlook on the Chinese market and are full of expectations for their operations and development in China. Not long ago, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade conducted a survey on more than 160 foreign-funded enterprises and foreign business associations in China. The results showed that 99.4% of the surveyed foreign-funded enterprises were more confident in the prospects of China's economic development in 2023. They stated that they would continue to invest and prosper in China, sharing China's development dividends, and that 98.7% of the surveyed foreign-funded enterprises would maintain and expand their investment in China. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

As Nick Marro, Chief Analyst for Global Trade at The Economist Think Tank, said, the decision of foreign companies to increase capital in China is not surprising. Behind the confidence that foreign companies have shown in the Chinese market through their actions is a series of numbers that have brought them confidence: in 2022, against the backdrop of a 40% decline in global foreign investment, China achieved counter trend growth, with actual foreign investment of 189.13 billion US dollars used throughout the year. According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, from January to April this year, the actual amount of foreign investment used nationwide was 499.46 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.2%. China's attractiveness to foreign investment has further increased.

From the perspective of the direction of increasing foreign investment in China, the logic of investing in China has changed. Foreign investment is gradually abandoning traditional low-end manufacturing industries and shifting towards high value-added and innovative industries such as new energy, pharmaceutical manufacturing, electronic information manufacturing, and productive service industries including financial services, information services, research and development design.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, from January to April this year, the actual use of foreign investment in China's high-tech industry increased by 12.8%, with high-tech manufacturing industry increasing by 37.1% and high-tech service industry increasing by 6%.

From the current investment layout, it is not difficult to see that foreign enterprises are not only optimistic about China's super large market. The advantages of the industrial chain, economic resilience, innovation and new opportunities brought by high-quality development are all seen as important driving forces for increased investment. (Translated from: Economic Daily)