In spite of the economic crisis in 2009, Huaqiao International Service Business Park has made great progress.

Great achievements

Over the first half of this year, 167 programs have been introduced into Huaqiao, including six investments each with capitals above thousand million dollars from abroad. BOC Serve Co Ltd Kunshan branch, Kunshan Summit Softwares Co Ltd, Jiangsu Start Dimei Data Processing Co Ltd, Tangram Customer Interaction Center, and Dalian BJB Infotech Co Ltd have begun their business operations, with total contract capitals reaching 500 million yuan, 5 million dollars of which are from offshore outsourcing. Three years ago, Huaqiao was a leader in the wave of industry transformation, which has brought in great benefits. Take 2008 as an example—the local GDP in the Huaqiao economic development zone increased by 125% compared with that of 2005. The budget revenues increased by 163% and the fixed-asset investments from private entities increased by 139%.

Design in advance Beginning from the transformation from a processing and manufacturing, base to a service town for modern metropolitan cities, Huaqiao has targeted the modern service industry as its ultimate aim. Mckinsey & Company, a renowned American management consulting firm advising leading companies on issues of strategy, organization, technology, and operations, was hired to formulate Huaqiao’s industrial position and functions. Over the past three years, over twenty million yuan have been allocated to programming and researching by dozens of famous planning corporations, including Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute, Japan’s Nomura, Britain’s Atkins, America’s EDAW, and Singapore’s Start & City Planning.

Super environment

Huaqiao has a geographic advantage—it is adjacent to Shanghai and a light subway from Shanghai to Huaqiao is being built, which means the transportation will be improved. This builds a solid base for Huaqiao’s rapid progress in the modern service industry. The fixed-asset investment has accumulated 13 billion yuan, with over 4 billion yuan in the basic infrastructure. The dwelling houses formerly owned by farmers have been changed into tall apartments. Six new top-notch parks have been constructed with the forestation area covering 3.5 million square meters. 39 new roads with a total length of 52 km have been built. The electricity system has been perfected, with power provided round the clock.

Government support

Support from the government has also contributed to Huaqiao’s success. Capgmini Group once rented two floors at the Asia-pacific Square. The managing committee of the Huaqiao economic development zone organized its decoration, which was completed in one month, much shorter than the predicted three months. This moved Capgmini to transfer more core businesses into Huaqiao. As of now, the headquarters at Huaqiao cover 15 thousand square meters and will be put into use by the end of this year.

Wang Xiaoliang, Vice President of the Capgmini Group (China) and General Manager of the Capgmini China Global Delivery & Share Service Center, said, “The service industry is developing in many cities. We chose Huaqiao Kunshan because of the support of the local government and its efficiency. The managing committee of the Huaqiao economic development zone is an honest government devoted to service.”

Yang Peng, CEO of China Data Group also said, “I signed with Huaqiao after a one-month investigation. Both of the officials and the working staff at Huaqiao are devoted to their professionalism and execution.”

Industrial features

Industrial features are the wing of development. The key for Huaqiao to accumulate capital is to clarify its industrial position and from its industrial features. Starting from the construction, Huaqiao International Service Business Park aims to become a modern international business service town with four major industries—service outsourcing,modern logistics, and commercial services. The four industries are upon completion after these last three years. A group of financial service outsourcing enterprises is introduced, including France’s Capgmini, China Data Group, and Summit Software Co Ltd. More than 20 enterprises have been settling into their headquarters at Huaqiao International Service Business Park, with the investment amount up to 13.5 billion yuan, including Japan’s NSK, Hong Kong Kingboard Chemical Holdings Ltd, and Zhongcheng Group from China’s southern Fujian Province.

Talent resources

Huaqiao also saw the role of talent resources and established super environment for their growth. “Many kinds of policies are put forth to attract talents and the support service outsourcing industry. We have established eight green channels for enterprises to call 110 and fire extinguishing services. Huaqiao has spent at least 100 million yuan in training potential talented employees to guarantee talent reserves for local enterprises,” said Tang Naixin, vice director of the managing committee of the Huaqiao economic development zone.

By Lucy