Lingang supports foreign companies to achieve high-quality growth in China

The Sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) will be held from November 5 till 10 in Shanghai. It is not only a platform for exhibitors and purchasers to meet and exchange ideas, but also a great venue for Chinese park operators to show their capabilities and services.

At the Lingang Group Exhibition Hall, the stand of Germany-based Lenze Company has taken up a prime location and caught the eyes of many visitors. "We are very grateful to Lingang Group for providing us with such an amazing stage to launch our new products. This is a great opportunity to introduce us to more clients," said Li Jin, Senior National Sales Director, Lenze China.

Lenze, which joined CIIE for the first time this year, is a globally leading automation company for mechanical engineering. It invested in Lingang in 2007 and has become "an old friend" of the park ever since.

Since 2019, thanks to the establishment of Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Lenze's base in the area has grown from a manufacturing site into its second global headquarters as well as the HQ of East Asia, which has R&D, manufacturing and sales functions. The company's role has also evolved from "In China for China" to "In China for the World".

The remarkable growth of Lenze in China is just one example of the services that the Lingang Group has provided to foreign investors.

Starting from its earliest days, Lingang Group has adopted a globalized growth mindset. Caohejing Hi-Tech Park, which is one of the industrial parks currently operated by Lingang, has attracted many foreign technology investors since as early as the end of 1980s, such as Philips, AT&T, Air Liquide, 3M and METTLER TOLEDO. Now 144 Global Fortune 500 companies have set up branches in Caohejing, making it one of the most popular destinations for multinational companies to open their regional headquarters and R&D centers in Shanghai.

For an industry park, a high-quality design is a key success factor in attracting investors as well as fostering their future growth.

Lingang Group has worked with UK-based Arlington Park to develop the Caohejing Sci-Tech Oasis Park, a "park-in-park" with globally leading infrastructure and services. In recent years, the group has enhanced its supportive capabilities and facilities for a number of prioritized industries, such as integrated circuits, biomedicine and intelligent manufacturing. By understanding clients' unique business processes and organizational structure, Lingang is now able to provide them with the most suitable, cost-effective and convenient factories and facilities.

The world-leading heating and air-conditioning solution provider Johnson Controls – Hitachi Air Conditioning is another good example. It has chosen to invest in Lingang Fengxian Park because there is a complete low-carbon green manufacturing industry cluster around the park. The two parties will work together to achieve synergy by powering the growth of companies in the upper and lower streams of this industry chain.

Just as the Lenze case has shown, Lingang's service has often exceeded the investors' expectations. During this CIIE, Lingang Group has invited nearly 100 foreign invested companies to join its exhibition hall, many of whom are located in the group's parks. Lingang has offered customized services to help them build their brand image, capture the opportunities the CIIE has brought, and win more friends as well as clients.

Lingang Group's excellent services have also propelled the high-quality sustainable development of foreign-invested companies in China. The group has made great efforts to realize its ESG ambition by setting up a "Six Pillar Innovation Supportive Framework", which focuses on providing an innovation-enabling system for technological, digital, green, service, financial and overseas innovations. The group aims to find a balanced growth pattern to create economic, social and environmental values.

For example, Tesla was given the official permission to start its groundwork in 2018. In 2019, its Gigafactory achieved three remarkable milestones — breaking ground, starting operation and factory delivery — all within one year. In 2020, this factory began to mass produce Model 3 cars and export them to the European market.

Behind this amazing speed is Lingang Group's high-quality service based on its deep understanding of the area, clients' industries and their expertise. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, has personally praised the surprisingly fast Shanghai speed.

The fast expansion of foreign companies in China is also supported by the institutional reforms undertaken by the areas where Lingang's parks are located. For example, the Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has kept enhancing its level of opening-up since it was established more than four years ago. As a result, the foreign direct investment into this area has maintained an annual growth rate of more than 50%. It has established China's first comprehensive bonded zone (Yangshan Free Trade Zone) and the first wealth management company controlled by a foreign investor. It is also accelerating the development of international financial asset trading platforms, Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange and the International Board for Reinsurance Trading — just to name a few institutional innovation achievements. It is estimated that by 2025, Lin-gang Pilot Free Trade Zone will host 10,000 overseas talents and will issue more than 3,000 Foreigner's Work Permits.

The high-quality growth of foreign invested companies will also contribute to Chinese people's better life quality. This June, Medtronic Inc. began to build its first manufacturing line at Lingang Life Science & Tech Park to better meet the needs of Chinese patients.

"We expect our Lingang project can continue to exceed expectations to better serve not only domestic patients, but also patients in other parts of the world," said Alex Gu, Senior Vice President and President of Medtronic Greater China.

Source: Shanghai Lingang Economic Development Group