Wang Yunpeng, mayor of Tai'an city in Shandong province, addressing the key projects signing ceremony.

Tai'an city in Shandong province will see its economic ties with Hong Kong strengthened further after 21 major deals with investments grossing $2.24 billion were inked at the 2012 (Hong Kong) Tai'an Key Industries Seminar and economic and trade talks held at JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong on June 9.

The projects, involving a total foreign investment of $868 million, cover a wide range of sectors, including new energy, modern services, advanced manufacturing, tourism, urban construction, and real estate.

"As a renowned international finance and trading hub, Hong Kong is one of our most important business partners and plays an indispensable role in our overseas trade activities," said Wang Yunpeng, mayor of Tai'an.

"Tai'an has a sound business environment. The local government attaches great importance to overseas investment and are willing to solve various problems for us, so we decided to increase the size of our investment," Lin Wenli, vice president of the Hong Kong-based ECO Environmental Investments Limited, said at the event.

The company signed an agreement to increase a 50-million-yuan investment in its compressed natural gas project in Dongping county, which was launched in 2010 at a cost of 20 million yuan.

According to Wang, contracts for another four projects will be signed by the local government and Hong Kong companies at Shandong-Hong Kong Key Project Signing Ceremony on June 11.

The projects include a high-end fitness equipment production base, a liquefied natural gas plant, an auto starter production center, and a bio-energy industrial park. They are expected to secure a combined investment of $1.31 billion, including an estimated foreign-capital of $629 million.

Tai'an has held the business promotion drive in Hong Kong every year for three years running, which has introduced a total of 84 Hong Kong-funded projects, with $11.05 billion in backing.

By Wang Qian (China Daily Shandong Bureau)

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Emily Cheng