New projects signal Sichuan's healthy economic climate

In the integrated circuit industry chain, Chengdu has also attracted global semiconductor manufacturing giants Intel, Texas Instruments and AMD, as well as Taiwan-headquartered semiconductor firm MediaTek, and the Chinese mainland's Spreadtrum Communications, to settle in its high-tech industrial zone.

On Nov 18, Intel launched its advanced test technology project in Chengdu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, with total investment of $1.6 billion.

The recent investment boom in Chengdu is rooted in Sichuan province's overall investment climate.

The number of major investment projects in the province is set to reach 1,952 in the first three months of 2017, with total funding of 786.9 billion yuan.

The projects will mainly focus on infrastructure, industrial development, livelihood enhancement and social undertakings. Among them, industrial projects make up the highest proportion, accounting for 41 percent, with an annual increase of 6.6 percentage points. The increase shows that industrial investment, mostly from non-State-owned businesses, is taking the place of infrastructure investment to drive local economic growth.

Several projects, including a high-tech rail production project in Guang'an, a biological composite material for 3-D printing project in Nanchong, and a new-energy gas generator project in Suining, are among the large-scale industrial investment ventures located in Sichuan.

Chengdu's high-tech, modern manufacturing, modern services and modern agriculture sectors accounted for 52 percent of total investment in key projects.

There are currrently 168 projects in Sichuan that boast investment of 1 billion yuan. Such large-scale projects can only survive and thrive in the correct environment and market conditions. The province's major projects have bucked the continuing trend of economic stagnation, showing the province's increasing appeal to investors, according to an official at the Sichuan Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau.

liyou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/09/2017 page18)