Zone abolishes charges to lure investment

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 ◆ Zone abolishes charges to lure investment

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) will abolish charges on 97 items starting from next month in an effort to lure more investment.

Of the 111 items charged before, only 14 remain including fees for land use, water consumption and market management, The move means the annual income of BDA will drop by 11.7 million yuan (US$1.4 million) next year, Li Fengling, director of the BDA administrative committee said.

However, it will result in a sharp decrease of financial burdens for enterprises settled in the zone, which will strengthen the attraction of BDA and ensure its long-term development.

With China"s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the government"s role must shift from an administrative one to that serving enterprises, Li said.

To meet the demand, the BDA will carry out new reforms before the end of this year, covering procedures for examinations and approval, administrative systems and customs supervision systems.

"It is good news for us to be relieved of some financial burdens, but the most important thing is that the working efficiency of the government will be improved," Xi Jun, a financial executive with Beijing Shiseido, said.

In the first 10 months of this year, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the BDA was 5.1 billion yuan (US$618 million), up 155 per cent over the same period last year.

The industrial output was 28.6 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion), and the export volume US$8.6 billion, an increase of 430 per cent and 805 per cent respectively. (China Daily)