An enthusiastic Jiang Yikang, secretary of the Shandong Committee of the Communist Party of China, has only one message for those still in doubt that the Chinese economy has weathered the international financial storm: "The stimulus policies and other financial incentives launched by local and central governments have paid off!"

Jiang's remarks follow news that the Sunshell Group, a globally rated textile company based in Shandong, achieved a sales revenue of 382 million yuan and profits of 47.28 million yuan in the first quarter of this year. This, says Jiang, is but one example of the eastern coastal province's ability to buck the international downward financial trend.

Figures from the Shandong Bureau of Statistics now show that 32 of the province's 37 designated industrial sectors enjoyed substantial growth during the first quarter of 2009. The province's business climate index in the first quarter reached 111.2 points, up 5.1 points on the fourth quarter in 2008.

The province reported an industrial added value of 155.96 billion yuan for April 2009, a year-on-year increase of 14.1 percent, sending out the very positive signal that the local economy is enjoying a considerable degree of recovery.

The April figures show considerable improvement on the 7.9 percent growth in March and maintain the year's overall upward trend. The total industrial added value in the first four months of 2009 reached 532 billion yuan, an increase of some 9.5 percent year-on-year, a factor largely derived from the surprisingly buoyant performance throughout April.

Stimulus measures

In a bid to boost economic development, Shandong has also made substantial investments in building 240 key projects. These key projects cover a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, hi-tech products, environmental protection and infrastructure construction.

Chief among these key projects are 79 related to the manufacturing and hi-tech sectors, which, combined, involve a total investment of more than 250 billion yuan.

Local statistics show that the fixed-asset investment between January and April reached 401.35 billion yuan, an increase of 20.5 percent year-on-year. Other economic indicators, including port throughput and logistics, also showed positive signs of an economic recovery.

Total throughput of the three largest ports in Shandong - Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai - reached 59.56 million tons in April, a year-on-year growth of 6.1 percent, marking a sharp contrast with the 0.3 percent decrease seen in January.

The province's manufacturing industries are also benefiting from the boom in infrastructure construction in the rest of the country, an important part of the nation's stimulus plan.

A prime example is the Shandong-based China National Heavy Duty Truck Group. The group, also known as Sinotruck, has secured orders for some 700 units of heavy-duty trucks every day since the beginning of March, a stark contrast to the total of just 100 ordered in January. The latest 2009 figures for the company show orders for more than 14,000 trucks.

In line with the central government's plans for restructuring and revitalizing the country's key industries, Shandong has launched its own industrial restructuring initiative. Encompassing 10 key sectors, the plan outlines ambitious objectives for the province's iron, steel, shipbuilding, automotive, equipment manufacturing and electronics industries.

Industrial restructuring

Overall, the plan is intended to see leading companies rejuvenating the domestic economy by stimulating local demand.

One of the company leading this initiative is the Qingdao-based Haier Group. The company has already brought 180 products, across 15 ranges, to market this year. This has seen the company's sales revenue, both domestically and internationally, continue to grow impressively. During the first few months of 2009, the company experienced 57 percent growth in the new markets in Africa and the Middle East.

Following its acquisition of the assets of the French-owned Moteurs Baudouin, Weichai Power in Weifang is another company that has been leading the way for local entrepreneurs. In a move to reassure fellow businesses in the area, Weichai has just invested 600 million yuan in building a new product research center, a sure sign of its faith in the future. Meanwhile, figures for March show that the company's engine production volume exceeded 35,000 units in March, an all time high for the business.

Driven by many of the region's producers, including Sinotruk, Lovol and Shifeng, the region's automobile industry has gained strong momentum, with total sales volume reaching 258,000 units, a growth of 16 percent year-on-year.

Textile producers in Shandong are also seeking new opportunities and are exploring overseas markets whilst developing new products.

In the light of considerable shrinkage in its European markets, Sunvim, one of the major textile companies in the province, switched into developing the emerging markets in Iran, Panama, Chile, South Africa and Russia.

(China Daily 06/18/2009 page24)