Media: Hainan's Haikou to boost innovation through government services

HAIKOU, September 26. Hainan's administrative center —the city of Haikou — will accelerate innovation and draw more investors through flexible government services. The success of the local authorities in this direction was reported by the People's Daily.

Aerial photo of Haikou, capital of Hainan Province and a core city for the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port. (Photo: en.hnftp.gov.cn)

According to the news outlet, an increasingly important role in the formation of supply chains in the province is played by special local centers to simplify document flow, set up in key innovation zones of the region. "Without such coordinating structures, it would be impossible to achieve the desired result and simplify procedures as much as possible," said a spokesman for Fuxingcheng Science City Zhou Bo.

According to official estimates, the efficiency of data processing and decision-making has increased by more than 90% thanks to the new state structures operating in a shigle window mode. Thus, competent companies intending to register a business on Hainan were able to start the construction of facilities and the production process on the leased land lots in just 14 working days without unnecessary delay.

"As a result, costs are noticeably reduced, and the business climate becomes optimal," according to the observers of the People's Daily.

The results of the change

"Before I had a chance to do business on Hainan, it took two months at best to process licenses," said CEO of pharmaceutical company Hainan Changan Wang Lidong. "And now I just need to submit documents online without meeting with officials and responsible authorities"

As he specified, it took him 21 days to select a site, formalize an investment contract and all other procedures. The head of the company added that he planned to invest more than 400 million yuan (about 62 million dollars) in a project to produce anticancer drugs.

According to Wu Weixiu, a spokesman for the local high-tech industry inspection office, previously, entrepreneurs wishing to develop businesses in Haikou had to resolve quite a few issues on their own. "Now everything has become simpler, and we observe record terms of project implementation daily," he said.

These advantages have recently attracted a large number of Chinese companies and certified foreign partners (QFLP), which are investing more and more in Hainan's economy. For example, over 5,700 new enterprises were registered in Haikou's Jiangdong New Region Special Development Zone in January-August. The increase rate in the number of companies based there amounted to 134.24% year on year.

On April 13, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the creation of a pilot free trade zone and port on Hainan. The program aims to involve the island in globalization and international distribution of labor, to lay a solid innovation base. The provincial administration creates attractive conditions for investors, forms a developed research infrastructure. At the same time, the authorities are making great efforts to provide ideal conditions for tourism, constantly improving the environment, contributing to the preservation and enrichment of the unique cultural identity of the southernmost province of China.