In the first three quarters of 2018, 113 new foreign-invested manufacturing companies were founded in Guangzhou, a year-on-year increase of 52.7 percent. The city also saw a year-on-year growth of 200 percent in the actual use of foreign capital during the same period.
Guangzhou's recovery growth in manufacturing followed a three-year action plan introduced by the municipal government in 2017. According to the plan for the 2018-2020 period, foreign investment in manufacturing is expected to grow by 20 percent per year and the actual use of foreign capital will reach 3.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2020.
From January to August this year, the industrial added value and the industrial output value of major foreign-invested enterprises in Guangzhou accounted for 55.6 percent and 58.0 percent of the city's total respectively.
"In the past two years, foreign-invested companies in Guangzhou have contributed to the city's recovery growth in manufacturing," said Yang Yong, deputy director of Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Commerce. "The actual use of foreign capital in Guangzhou reached 2.624 billion U.S. dollars in the first three quarters of 2018, a year-on-year increase of 204.1 percent."
"In recent years, some world famous foreign companies have increased their capital and share in China, indicating their confidence in the market," Yang added. "From January to September this year, 478 foreign companies have increased their investment in Guangzhou, a year-on-year increase of 68.9 percent."
Until now, the number of the world's top 500 companies in Guangzhou has reached 297, with 921 investment projects. Statistics also show that Guangzhou saw 4,215 new foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in the first nine months of 2018, a year-on-year increase of 145.9 percent.
