Wuxi entrepreneur Zhou Haijiang, chairman of garment giant Hodo Group, gives a speech during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, April 25. [Photo/hongdou.com]

Wuxi entrepreneur Zhou Haijiang, chairman of garment giant Hodo Group, was invited to give a speech during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, held from April 25-27 in Beijing.

Zhou was the only Chinese private entrepreneur to talk about his experiences in building overseas industrial parks in Cambodia under the China-pioneered Belt and Road Initiative.

The Sihanoukville special economic zone (SEZ), developed in 2007 as the first of its kind, has been making efforts to help poor people in Cambodia and was recognized as a place of economic significance by the local government.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has spoken highly of the development of Sihanoukville SEZ and considers it one of the best achievements under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Covering over 11 square kilometers, the SEZ has attracted 161 companies from China, Europe, America and Southeast Asia, specializing primarily in industries such as textiles, garments, machinery, electronics, leather products and wooden flooring. It has so far provided over 29,000 jobs for locals.

The Cambodian Sihanoukville SEZ, led by the Wuxi-based Hodo Group, has become the largest base for foreign-trade exports in Cambodia. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In 2018, the total output value of Sihanoukville SEZ reached more than $1 billion, providing over 50 percent of the economic contribution to Sihanoukville province. The province overtook other Cambodian provinces to register the highest GDP per capita in the country in 2018, reaching approximately $3,358.

Sihanoukville SEZ is expected to provide 80,000 jobs for locals in next phase and has been recognized as economically significant by the local government.

During the forum, Hodo Group signed an agreement to invest $300 million in building a production base for high performance radial tires in Thailand. The largest project by a Chinese manufacturing company in Thailand, it will provide over 1,500 jobs for locals.