Facts & Figures (2007)

Source: Administration of Changzhou National High-tech District

Introduction

Changzhou National High-tech District (Changzhou NHD), formerly Changzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone, is located in the north of Changzhou, along the riverbank of the Yangtze River. It is about 170 km from Shanghai, the economic and commercial hub of China. It was approved by the State Council as a state-level development zone in 1992. Changzhou Export Processing Zone (Changzhou EPZ), approved in 2005, is still under construction and has not commenced operations yet.

Changzhou NHD is 15 km from Changshu Airport, which offers domestic routes to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Kunming, Harbin and Dalian. Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Nanjing Lukou International Airport are 200 km and 120 km away respectively. Changzhou Port, 150 km from Shanghai Port, is one of the major inland river ports along the Yangtze River. It is situated only 1 km from the Shanghai-Nanning Expressway and on the midpoint of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway.

Investment Climate

Changzhou NHD has a planned area of 5.63 km² while the Changzhou EPZ has a planned area of 1.66 km². It encourages industries such as optical-mechanical-electronic integration and pharmaceutical, fine chemical industries.

It has witnessed an annual growth rate of 24.9% since 2002. By the end of 2007, a total of 731 high-tech companies had made investments in Changzhou NHD. The gross industrial output from the zone hit RMB 81.1 billion in 2007, accounting for 19.1% of Changzhou's total. The high-tech enterprises achieved a RMB 35.3 billion gross industrial output, accounting for 53.7% of such enterprises with the designated size and above. From 2002-2007, it attracted a total of US$3.9 billion FDI and the utilized FDI rose to US$1.7 billion. There are 19 Fortune 500 enterprises in the zone.

Besides the hi-tech park, it also consists of several special parks, such as Software Park, Animation Park, Pharmaceutical Park, International Environment Protection Industrial Park and Riverside Industrial Zone. In 2007, the Software Park attracted 44 software developers and the utilized FDI amounted to US$4.37 million, more than four times the figure in 2006. The export value of software products more than doubled to US$10.6 billion.

Major investors include Nippon Steel Corp, GE, IMETAL, Mannesmann, Anglia, DISA and George Fisher. Nippon Steel invested US$98 million in the zone to build up a unit to produce non-ferrous metal compound materials and new-type alloy materials in 2005. The unit has an annual production capacity of 18,000 tons.

Investment Costs

Transportation Costs

Waterway Freight Costs (US$/20'GP/40'GP/40'HQ)

Source: Shipping China (As of Feb 29, 2008)

Utility Costs

Source: Administration Commission of Changzhou New Hi-tech District

Winning Edge

1. Lies in the center of the Yangtze River Economic Zone and benefits from the economic spillover from other major cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Suzhou
2. Developed transportation system
3. Relatively lower costs compared to other major cities in Jiangsu

Limitations

1. Strong competition from other state-level zones in the neighborhood
2. The economic development of Changzhou is relatively low compared to other cities in the Jiangsu province.
3. Lack of talents and weak in R&D. It lacks a famous university 

The Administration Committee

1. Address: 8 Hengshan Road, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213022 P. R. China
2. Tel: 86-519- 85107129 85127093
3. Fax: 86-519-8512 7710
4. Website: http://www.cznd.com/