Attractive Industrial Town

Attractive Industrial Town

Xukou, a historical town in Jiangsu Province, has emerged as an industrial town attracting investors from home and abroad

Located in south Jiangsu Province in east China, Xukou Town has been renowned for its traditional calligraphy and paintings. Now, the town with an area of about 40 square km is home to 1,000 plus companies, including about 200 foreign companies.

Xukou is situated in a region with a high concentration of new and hi-tech industries.It shares a border with Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou National New and Hi-Tech Development Zone and Jiangsu Wuzhong Economic Development Zone. Industries in the region are highly complementary with each other.

The town is well connected to affluent neighboring cities by highway, water and air.

Xukou is 15 km from Suzhou, a famous historical and cultural city in the area. A highway connecting Shanghai and Ningbo, Zhejiang Province passes through Xukou and has two exits in the town.

The town is a one-hour drive from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport,Shanghai Port and Taicang Port, a major port in Jiangsu Province; and 20 minutes’ drive to Wuxi Sunan International Airport in Jiangsu Province.

In recent years, Xukou Town has seized the opportunities availed by China’s reform and opening-up policy and international capital transfer, and actively developed an export economy.

Since the establishment of Suzhou Longhua Garment Co. Ltd., a Sino-Japan joint venture company, in 1988, nearly 200 foreign companies have settled into Xukou’s Xujiang Industrial Park. These companies are from such countries as Japan,South Korea, Singapore, the United States,Germany and Finland.

Among the companies in Xukou, six are among the top 500 enterprises in the world,such as Sanyo Energy (Suzhou) Co. Ltd.,Sanyo Electric Home Appliances (Suzhou)Co. Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Components(Suzhou) Co. Ltd.

In addition, more than 1,000 private companies have also made Xujiang Industrial Park their home.

Now, Xukou Town features four pillar industries such as electronic information,alternative energy, machinery and electric manufacturing. The clusters of enterprises and industries in Xukou yield complimentary products and cooperate well with each other.

SANYO Energy (Suzhou) Co. Ltd.

Xukou appeals to investors from home and abroad with its good investment environment and considerate services provided by the local government.

To attract a large number of high-end enterprises, Xukou Town set up Xujiang Industrial Park, which has an area of nearly 200,000 square meters. In the past decade,the local government has invested a total of 1.25 billion yuan ($192.3 million) in infrastructure construction of the park.

Currently, Xujiang Industrial Park has a full-range of infrastructure such as electricity, water and gas supply, communication,sewage treatment and landscape. It boasts a wide range of facilities, a beautiful ecological environment and a reasonable distribution of industries. Investors have highly commended the investment environment of the industrial park, saying that it is compatible with that of the industrial parks at the provincial level.

Xukou is so investment-friendly that many foreign investors going to the town were attracted to open business there, and companies that have settled down in the town often inspire others to move there.Foreign investment has snowballed, spurring strong growth in its international-oriented economy.

Xukou lures investors with its sincerity.It serves investors whole-heartedly and wins their trust.

For instance, in the mid 1990s, Japan’s Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. visited many areas on China’s mainland before they arrived at Xukou Town. Once in Xukou Town,Japanese businessmen were touched by Xukou people’s hospitality and sincerity, and they soon set up Sanyo Electric Components(Suzhou) Co. Ltd. Later, they also funded Sanyo Energy (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Home Appliances Co. Ltd. in Xukou.

Sanyo Energy (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. has increased its capital for four times, and now has a total investment of more than $200 million. It has become one of the most successful subsidiaries of Sanyo Electric Co.Ltd. in its global markets.

Sanyo Energy (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. mainly produces energy-efficient and environmentfriendly products such as nickel-cadmium batteries, lithium-ion batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries and lithium batteries. These products have become the top choices of such world famous companies as Makita Corp.,Black and Decker Corp., IBM, Motorola, Dell,Toshiba and the Phillips.

When talking about why Sanyo was attracted to Xukou, a former chairman of the Board of Directors of Sanyo Energy (Suzhou)Co. Ltd. said the company chose Xukou for its good environment and quality services.

Moreover, Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. also introduced Altech New Materials (Suzhou)Co. Ltd. into Xukou. Altech has invested more than $100 million in the town.

Foreign companies rapidly gather in Xukou Town. Now, 60 Japanese companies are operating in Xukou, including Hatachi Cable (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., which has a total investment of $92.2 million. Nearly 80 foreign companies in the town have investment exceeding $10 million.

Now the town has a total foreign investment of nearly $2 billion, and the registered capital of foreign companies amount to $900 million.

(Chen Jianmin)