In the first quarter, cities (prefectures) in Sichuan Province signed 418 projects worth 425.15 billion yuan. Notably, 60% came from manufacturing in terms of either the number of projects or the investment amount. According to the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Economic Cooperation, Sichuan fulfilled, launched, and put into service 346, 281, and 114 projects worth 281.6 billion yuan, 201.5 billion yuan, and 66.8 billion yuan respectively in the period.
To deliver satisfying results in investment promotion in the quarter, Sichuan accelerated building a modern industrial system, carried out point-to-point investment promotion in key regions and targeted enterprises, and took measures to stabilize investment and increase momentum. Construction of the U.S. Albemarle (Meishan City) New Era Lithium Battery Material Factory, the Chongqing Zhongxian Intelligence Technology (Neijiang City) New-type Touchscreen Display Module Production Base, and other projects started successfully; Guangdong Chaozhou Three-Circle Group (Deyang City) Electronics and Advanced Materials Production and other projects were put into service.
As constant progress was made in implementing the 10 measures for advancing opening-up, Sichuan focused on Fortune Global 500 companies, famous multinationals, and industry leaders to build a clear picture of their investments in the province and create a detailed list of targeted companies. Thus, it worked to promote the implementation of newly signed projects and advance incumbent foreign enterprises to increase investment and expand production. In the quarter, Sichuan attracted a total FDI of 920 million U.S. dollars, registering a year-on-year increase of 13.3%. Manufacturing and high-tech industries performed particularly well. Specifically, the manufacturing industry saw a total in-paid FDI of 101 million U.S. dollars, up 136.47% year on year; the high-tech industry saw a total in-paid FDI of 565 million U.S. dollars, up 174.56% year on year.
Next, Sichuan's economic cooperation authorities at all levels will beef up efforts to attract projects, implement projects, and promote the incremental development of projects.
In attracting projects, focus will be put on the targets of the "1531" action plan for major industrialization project attraction, industry chain blueprints, development roadmaps, and investment promotion guidance catalogs for new-type display, software, aero-gas turbine engine, clean energy equipment and other key industries will be developed, and lists of investment opportunities in Sichuan and Sichuan investment service guides will be issued in due time. Specifically, the "1531" action plan for major industrialization project attraction puts forward to advance industry chain investment promotion, implement 5 projects each worth 10 billion yuan, 20 projects each worth 5 billion yuan, 40 projects each worth 3 billion yuan, and 160 projects each worth 1 billion yuan, maintain Sichuan's leadership in central and western China in terms of the amount of paid-in domestic investment and FDI and attract more than five Global Fortune 500 companies to invest in Sichuan. In the meanwhile, concerted efforts will be made by relevant provincial and municipal authorities to undertake industrial transfers, attract projects, increase investments, and stabilize growth.
In implementing projects, focus will be put on the projects under negotiation and the enterprises expressing investment intentions and multiple measures such as organizing ad hoc investment promotion activities will be taken to deliver more satisfying results in investment promotion and project attraction. Moreover, online special activities for different countries and industries will also be organized to promote the signing and implementation of major industrialization projects.
In promoting the incremental development of projects, multi-pronged efforts will be made to ensure that the newly signed projects can break ground and be put into service as fast as possible. Besides, the special action plan for foreign investment services will continue to be implemented. So far, relevant authorities have visited more than 680 major foreign enterprises in Sichuan to identify potential projects for increasing investments to keep the fundamentals of foreign investments stable.
