Investment in Guangzhou booms in first three quarters

Investment in emerging industries in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, increased significantly in the first three quarters of this year, thanks to the city's improved business environment, local authorities said.

Since the first of the year, the city has introduced and registered more than 2,200 new projects whose total planned investment reaches 349.3 billion yuan ($52.34 billion) — a year-on-year increase of 149 percent.

Investment in industrial sectors such as semiconductors, intelligent equipment, robotics, biomedicine, artificial intelligence and new energy has significantly increased.

"We have planned 35 key industrial cluster projects with clear positioning, comprehensive functions and high efficiency," said Wu Sa, director of Guangzhou's development and reform commission, during an international investment conference on Wednesday at the conclusion of the Canton Fair, which was attended by around 10,000 global investors, entrepreneurs and representatives from international business organizations.

Since the beginning of this year, the city has selected a number of plots of land that are expected to attract more than 800 billion yuan in investment, Wu said, adding that "special measures will be introduced for the construction of industrial clusters to support enterprises".

The measures focus on the aggregation of innovative resources, financial support for industries, recruitment of scarce talent and assurance of land resources. They aim to provide comprehensive support and protection for businesses operating within selected clusters.

Guangzhou, home to 7,431 industrial enterprises above designated size, has developed six advanced manufacturing clusters and 10 service industry clusters, each with a scale of more than 100 billion yuan.