An increasing number of domestic and international companies are focusing on Nansha district, part of the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone, in Guangdong province, looking for new businesses development opportunities and investments.

As part of the ongoing restructuring of State-owned enterprises in China, COSCO Shipping Bulk Co, formed by the merger of COSCO Bulk Carrier Co and China Shipping Bulk Carrier Co, is now the world's largest bulk vessel fleet in terms of both number of vessels and deadweight tonnage.

The new company was officially launched in June in the Nansha New Area in Guangzhou, part of the Guangdong Free Trade Zone that was established last year.

Liu Hanbo, general manager of COSCO Shipping, believes the company will benefit from both Guangzhou's position as an international trade and shipping hub, and its important position as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Starting from Nansha, Liu said the company will look to strengthen its business network throughout Europe, Australia, Singapore and Japan while undertaking research to explore opportunities in emerging markets such as India.

The COSCO Shipping project is one of 68 projects established in the Nansha New Area by 41 Fortune 500 companies, including L'Oreal, which established R&D and manufacturing bases, and China Railway Construction Co Ltd, which set up its South China headquarters in the area.

Experts believe such largescale projects will continue to attract small- and-medium sized companies there. In the first half of the year, 6,005 companies have registered in the area with more than 42.92 billion yuan ($6.4 billion) of registered capital.

Zheng Tianxiang, professor at the Center for Studies of Hong Kong, Macao and the Pearl River Delta at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, said the launching of COSCO Shipping will not only bring its fleet and shipping ability, but also its cargo source and market.

It could also attract related business engaged in the selling and leasing of vessels and insurance to the area, he noted, adding that a shipping financial center will also be established in the area.

In order to attract such companies to the Nansha New Area, the local administrative office has formulated a range of supportive policies, including a shipping industry fund to solve logistics fundraising problems.

Ding Hongdu, Party chief of Nansha district, said the government has injected 400 million yuan into the first stage of the fund.

Improved logistics measures and facilities have helped attract the more than 870 crossborder e-commerce traders that had registered in the area by the end of June, he said.

Among the traders are a number of domestic e-commerce giants, such as Tmall and JD's e-shop for international goods, as well as Suning's online store.

Li Jinling, vice-president of Top Ideal, a supply chain management company located in Nansha, said their order numbers have soared from dozens per day to more than 10,000.

She added the company's imported goods warehouse covering more than 7,000 square meters is constantly full.

Shipping is just one industry being supported by and thriving in Nansha New Area, which has also attracted more than 530 financial companies, including 13 branches established by China's "Big Four" State-owned banks and other commercial banks.

Enterprises engaged in advanced manufacturing are setting up in the zone, including Gac Toyota Motor Co Ltd, which is building a factory with a production capacity of 220,000 units.

A number of leading companies are currently in discussion with the zone's authorities about establishing operations there, including the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Herrenknecht AG, a leading German manufacturer of tunnel-drilling machines. The eventual aim is to form an industrial cluster of high-end manufacturing.

grace@chinadailyhk.com

Ding Hongdu (left), Nansha Party chief, inks an agreement with COSCO Shipping Bulk.