Today is the first of four posts on tier-3 cities. We will feature Shijiazhuang, Changzhou, Wuhu, and Foshan (which at this point is actually a tier 2 city, but we'll still group it with these other Tier 3 cities). The common theme among them is lots of money, not a lot of recognition among us in the west. They are all hot spots for investment among the Chinese themselves and other Asian investors. There is no set paradigm for the reports and they are really a collection of articles from various media sources over the last year to highlight major industries, infrastructure, real estate, and the economy at large in each city. Please think of this as a clipboard of media on each city that should shed some light on what is going on in each area for those looking for a general overview of what is going on beyond the borders of China's international cities. Each report is infused with a little bit of background from Wikipedia to set the stage. So, without further ado, we give you Shijiazhuang:
Shijiazhuang (simplified Chinese: 石家庄; traditional Chinese: 石家莊; pinyin: Shíjiāzhuāng, literally, "The Stones' Village") is a prefecture-level city about 320 kilometers south of Beijing and the capital of Hebei province. Shijiazhuang was established in the Second Sino-Japanese War as a communication outpost. Shijiazhuang is China's first big city that allows immigration population settles in it without paying any fees. (Wikipedia on Shijiazhuang)
Administration
-Shijiazhuang has direct jurisdiction over 23 districts, counties, and cities.
Sister cities
Bielsko-Biala, Poland
Cheonan, South Korea
Des Moines, Iowa, United States- Edison, New Jersey, United States
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Soria, Castilla y León, Spain
Infrastructure and Transportation
-Shijiazhuang is a transportation hub: it is at the intersection point of the Beijing-Guangzhou, Taiyuan-Dezhou, and Shuozhou-Huanghua railroads and many expressways, including the Beijing-Shenzhen and Taiyuan-Cangzhou Expressways. The Shijiazhuang Daguocun International Airport has flight connections to major cities in China.
-The Industrial and Commercial Union of Shijiazhuang city in Hebei province of China set up a logistics association in the middle of December 2007. The association will perform as a communication platform between enterprises and the government. It encourages local logistics enterprises to unite and to share resources. The logistics industry is a major growth momentum of the local economy. It covers cargo transportation, loading and unloading, storage and distribution related to construction, electronics and clothing businesses. (NewsTrak Daily, 1/3/08)
-Shijiazhuang High and New Technology Industrial Development Zone was established in March, 1991. It is among the state band high-tech zones approved by State Council. At the beginning, the zone is located at the west wing of the present one. For meeting the needs of development, the CPC Committee and People's Government of Shijiazhuang City decided to join Shijiazhuang Economic & Technical Development Zone and Liangcun Economic & Technical Development Zone with Shijiazhuang New and High-tech. Development zone from the year 1991, which has formed the frame of "One zone and three Gardens." The zone has the designed area of 18sq.km., with 40,000 staff. (http://www.21sjzg.com/)
-Taihang Mountain Tunnel, the key project of Shijiazhuang ¨C Taiyuan Railway, was completed on December 22nd. The passenger railway is a key project in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), and is China's first passenger railway project, on which construction began, totaling 189.93km in length. Construction on the railway project began on June 11th, 2005, and is expected to be completed at the end of 2008. The 27.8km-long double-hole Taihang Mountain Tunnel has established one entrance, one exit, nine slope mines and eleven construction routes. (12/27/07, China Industry Daily News)
- The construction of an express passenger railway which links Beijing with Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei province, will begin in June and finish in four years. The National Development and Reform Commission has approved the project, and a ground breaking will be done on June 1, said a source with the city government of Shijiazhuang, adding a special company will be set up to take charge of the construction. The new line is planned to alleviate transport pressure on the northern end of Beijing-Guangzhou railway, a north-south trunk route, and boost the development of areas around Beijing. The projected route will stretch 281 km starting from Beijing West Railway Station and ending at Shijiazhuang South Railway Station. Trains can run at a speed of 350 km per hour. Speed in the initial stage can be 300 km per hour, cutting the transit time to just over an hour. The investment of 43.87 billion yuan (about 6.01 billion U.S. dollars), will be shared by the Ministry of Railways and the governments of Beijing Municipality and Hebei Province. (Xinhua, 1/12/08)
-Shijiazhuang Public Transportation Company increased the number of natural gas buses in 2007 on the basis of environmental protection principles, according to the latest news released by Shijiazhuang City's Public Transportation Department. The City purchased 371 buses in 2007, with natural gas buses accounting for 150 units, thus bringing the total number of its natural gas buses to 748. Shijiazhuang City presently has 2,210 public buses, with natural gas buses accounting for 33.8% of the total. (1/29/08 China Industrial Daily News)
- The main route of Shijiazhuang City's Loop Highway (Shihuan Highway) was opened to traffic on a trial basis on November 11th. Construction on the Shihuan Highway began on September 30th, 2005. The first phase of the project, involving a total investment of RMB4.77bn, is 79.9km long, with the length of the first-grade bi-directional six-lane highway accounting for 46.1km. A total of 62 bridges and culverts have been established. The main body of the 74.2km-long main route of the Shihuan Highway has been completed, while the other projects are under construction.(11/13/07 China Industrial Daily News)
- Shijiazhuang Customs and Qingdao Customs formally signed a cooperation MOU on customs reform on May 22nd. This is the second cooperation agreement on customs reform between inland areas and coastal areas, following the agreement between Shanxi and Tianjin Customs.
The new regional customs-passing system will provide companies in Hebei Province, especially in central and southern areas, a more convenient way of passing customs. (5/24/07, Xinhua)
- Shanghai Juneyao Airlines opened two air routes on July 10th, namely Shanghai (Hongqiao) ¨C Shijiazhuang and Shanghai (Pudong) ¨C Baotou. Round-trip flights will operate on the Shanghai ¨C Shijiazhuang route on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and a weekly round-trip flight will operate on the Shanghai ¨C Baotou route. (7/11/07 Xinhua)
-Relevant sources from Shijiazhuang Government revealed on May 29th that the first phase of the Runfeng Logistics Center project opened on May 27th. The first phase of the center projected is located at the intersection of the city's South Second Ring Road and Jianshe Street. Construction of the logistics center was divided into two phases, with a total area of 13.33ha (200mu) and an investment of RMB20M. 180 logistics enterprises are now settled in the center, including eight of China's top ten logistics companies, such as Guangda Logistics and Chengxin Logistics. Once the center goes fully into operation, it will transport and distribute over 10,000 tons of cargo daily. (5/30/07 Xinhua)
- Tianjin Port is confident about achieving its target of handling 300 million tons of cargo by 2010. With its seamless cargo transport operation, Tianjin Port has brought in efficiency to its port economy. To reduce transport cost and time, it has formed a literally "waterless port" or seamless operation with Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang. The waterless port arranges effective logistics from the source of cargo, to custom clearance, ship order booking, storage, and to packaging all in one effective sequence. (8/20/07 NewsTrak Daily)
-Hebei Province in Central China aims to see its ports be capable of handling 592 million tons of cargo, including 1.2 million containers (TEU), in 2010. (1/8/08 Sinocast)
- SHIJIAZHUANG - Several petrochemical projects will be launched at Shijiazhuang Petrochemical Base in Hebei province, the nearest province to Chinese capital Beijing. (8/24/07 Asia Pulse)
-Shijiazhuang Section of the South-to-North Water Diversion project will be completed at the end of 2007, and after the trial period, it will be able to transmit water before April 2008, according to the news released by the Beijing Water Affairs Bureau on November 5th. Hebei Province will transmit 300 million cbm of water to Beijing annually. (11/6/07 Xinhua)
Human Resources
-Shijiazhuang Railway Institute is a prestigious university of applied engineering science as well as the specialties for Arts Science, Economy, Management and Law. It has formed a closed educational system, including graduate students, undergraduates, specialty students and the adult education. More than 40,000 students, famous academies and experts in engineering technology and advanced management have been cultivated. The institute has been enrolling students from the whole country. Now the institute has established 12 schools and 6 departments including 45 majors with more than 16,000 full-time students. We have 13 specialized approved accredited master degree programs such as the Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering, Bridge and Tunnel Engineering, Mechanical Design and Theory, Transport Tools Application Engineering, Managing Science and Engineering. Road and Railway Engineering, Materials, Electric Power Electronics and Electronic Conveying, Computer Application, Solid Mechanics, Disaster Prevention and Reduction Engineering and so on. At the same time, it was authorized to enroll doctor degree students, award master degree to those who have reached the required level. The institute possesses a faculty of 1,500, in which 700 people specialize in educational science, 270 professors, associate professors or senior engineers, 74 teachers have got the doctor degree. 46 young experts have made outstanding contributions to Hebei province even to the nation. Meanwhile, academician from academy of science, academy of engineering or famous professors were appointed as our part-time professors. (http://knows.jongo.com/res/article/3344)
-Hebei Medical University is located in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, North China Plain. It consists of the original Hebei Medical College, Hebei Provincial College of Traditional Medicine and Shijiazhuang Medical College, which were combined in 1995. Of them the original Hebei Medical College was established the earliest and grew out of the Hebei Medical School which was set up in 1915. Hebei Medical University has become a comprehensive medical university composed of western medicine, traditional medicine, pharmacy and other subjects. It has 14 colleges, and 15 specialities. The university has Basic Medicine, Clinical Medicine and Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine Postdoctoral Research Institutions. It has been authorized in conferring Ph.D. degree in 14 and master degree in 47 specialities. There are 9781 full-time students in school, 6728 adult students, and nearly 50 foreign students from South Korea and Japan and so on. Now it has been qualified to enroll students from Taiwan, Hongkong and Macao. (http://knows.jongo.com/res/article/3270)
-Hebei University of Economics and Business is a multi-subject and Comprehensive university offering a wide range of courses in Economics, Administration, Laws, Literature, Engineering and Science, with emphasis on the study of Economics. HUEB is privileged to confer Master's and Bachelor's degrees on qualified students. At present the university has 13 master degree programs and 39 bachelor degree programs. The students of the university come from 16 Provinces, cities and self-governing municipality. The student population is more than 18000. Besides the full time students, the College of Continuing Education of the university has more than 13000 part-time students. (Website:http://www.heuet.edu.cn/)
-The Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was founded in 2001 by merging of three former Institutes of CAS, the Institute of Genetics, the Institute of Developmental Biology and the Shijiazhuang Agricultural Mordernization lnstitute. The Institute has a strong and young scientific community. Among 614 employees, 469 persons are directly involved in research activities. Scientists in the Institute work with plant and animal models to address fundamental questions in life sciences, such as genetic control of growth and development, gene expression, signal transduction, structural and functional genomics, and bioinformatics. (Website: http://www.genetics.ac.cn)
-Shijiazhuang City in Hebei province held the 5th Overseas Chinese Professionals Economy and Technology Discussion Fair on 26 June, 2007. The theme of the fair was to increase communication and cooperation with overseas Chinese businessmen. The fair is organized by Shijiazhuang City Government with support from the State Council. Over 100 overseas Chinese from the US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, France, Japan and other countries attended and participated in the fair. Among the participants, there were professionals in medicine, new material, electronic information and financial investment services. Successful entrepreneurs and businessmen were also invited to the fair that aimed to promote innovative power. (7/18/07, News Trak Daily)
Economy
- Shijiazhuang's history tied to medical sector In 1953, the Ministry of Chemical Industry and the Ministry of Light Industry decided to construct a large-scale pharmaceutical base in Shijiazhuang, one of 156 prioritized projects of China's first-ever Five-Year Plan. In the early 21st century, the National Development and Reform Commission approved Shijiazhuang as the first national biological medicine production base. In 2004, Hebei's provincial government said it would build a biological medicine industry belt beginning in Shijiazhuang and covering neighboring cities. Shijiazhuang's government said it plans to transform the city into China's "medicine capital" in the next five to 10 years. (6/19/07 China Daily)
-Shijiazhuang City's prices for packaged chicken, aquatic products, eggs and sugar dropped in December 2007, while the prices for meat, vegetables, fruits and edible oil increased, according to the monitoring data of daily necessities released by the Municipal Bureau of Industry and Commerce. (1/8/08 China Industry Daily News)
- Shijiazhuang is also quickly becoming a consumer market that pursued by both domestic and foreign enterprises. In 2006, the city's per capita disposable income reached RMB11,250 (US$1,486), up 12% from 2005. ;On Zhongshan Road, the major business street in Shijiazhuang, you'll spot "2,999" emblazoned on passing buses. A closer look will reveal the numbers are an advertisement for RMB2,999 HP computers. The computer maker rarely launches advertising campaigns of this size in larger cities. "The changes started in the second half of 2006," says Xing Kai, a local HP distributor. "People here had a vague idea about HP, but now, it has dropped its airs, and released a spectrum of medium to low-end products. We're delighted with it. You know, the supply of the RMB2,999 (US$396) model can hardly meet demands." (8/6/07 CEO CIO China)
-The total foreign trade value of Shijiazhuang City in Hebei Province exceeded US$ 5bn and hit US$ 5.13bn in 2007, up by 22.62% year-on-year, with exports accounting for US$ 4.149bn, rising by 21.98% year-on-year. More specifically, Shijiazhuang's exports of steel products soared in 2007, while exports of fur and leather garments dropped sharply. In addition, exports of hi-tech and electromechanical products increased rapidly, while antibiotics exports surged.(China Industry Daily News, 1/23/08)
- In the first seven months of 2007, the traditional Chinese medicine export value was US$ 3,265,777 in Shijiazhuang City of Hebei Province, down 3.73% year-on-year, according to the latest statistics released by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products on September 17th. Of the total, the export value of traditional
Chinese medicinal materials and medicines in ready-to-use form reached US$ 2,332,197, down 7.06% year-on-year, the export value of traditional Chinese medicinal extracts was US$ 226,588, down 1.37% year-on-year, the health product export value was US$ 3,748, down 91.28% year-on-year, and the export value of Chinese patented medicines was US$ 703,244, up 15.19% year-on-year. (9/21/07 Xinhua)
- A total of 14.35 million overseas and domestic tourists visited Hebei Province's Shijiazhuang City in the first eight months of 2007, with the tourism income reaching RMB7.2bn, rising 9% and 16% year-on-year respectively, according to the latest statistics released by Shijiazhuang City's Bureau of Tourism. (9/21/07 Xinhua)
-Shijiazhuang - Nearly 7,000 hectares of biodiesel forest will take shape in the north China province of Hebei this year, part of a national campaign to fuel the fast growing economy in a green way. In no more than five years, the Pistacia chinensis Bunge, whose seeds have an oil content of up to 40 per cent, will yield five tons of fruit and contribute about two tons of high-quality biological diesel oil, according to the provincial forestry administration. (1/17/08 Asia in Focus) Hebei is among seven regions designated by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) in 2006 to develop biofuel demonstration forests.
Companies
-Shijiazhuang Listed Companies:
-Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group Ltd., one of China's largest antibiotic producers, is planning to launch an antibiotic production technology development project in the near future, a company official said today. "The feasibility of the project, Key Technology Innovation for Mass Producing Antibiotics, has recently passed expert appraisal," said Zhang Heming, vice director of the general affairs office of the company, adding that the project will receive government investment, though he declined to specify the amount. The project will focus on creating technology capable of producing antibiotics on top of developing fermentation technology and equipment, as well as separation engineering technology and equipment… Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., North China Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. are the four largest antibiotic manufactures in China. (10/17/07 China Pharmaceuticals and Health Technologies Newswire)
-Legend Holding, the parent company of Lenovo Group (HK:0992, LNVGY.PK) has finally concluded its buyout negotiation with Shijiazhuang Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the owner of Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. The two sides on June 16 formally signed an agreement to transfer the 100 percent stake in the drug maker to Legend Holding for 870 million yuan, 30 million yuan higher than the bottom price originally set for auction. (6/18/07 Xinhua)
-Shijiazhuang - North China Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (NCPC), one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in China, has entered into a strategic contact with the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS) to march into the field of biomass as well as the bio-based chemicals, said local media at the 1st China Bioindustry Convention. Butylalcohol, the biofuel NCPC and the IMCAS focused on, is expected to tart production in August. In September, the biofuel will receive an automobile-oriented testing in the UK, revealed a senior executive of the pharmaceutical giant. Presently, the company has gained several thousand tons orders. The btylalcohol product can be distributed soon provided that the result of concerned testing is satisfactory by then. (6/21/07 Sinocast)
-Guodian Power Development Co (GPDC), a publicly listed company, said it will buy a 20 percent stake in Shijiazhuang City Commercial Bank. GPDC, a subsidiary of China Guodian Corporation (CGC), one of the country's top three power generating firms, will acquire the bank's 313 million shares for 1.2 yuan apiece. GPDC will become the bank's largest shareholder with the 375 million yuan capital investment, it said yesterday. The cash injection from the issue of new shares will lift the bank's capital adequacy ratio to above 10 percent, paving the way for the bank to hold an initial public offering (IPO) on the mainland A-share market in the future. (11/22/07 China Daily)
-Chang An Bus, a subsidiary of Chang An Auto Group, reported heartening performances for the first nine months of the year. In Jan-Sept, the company, based in Dingzhou, Hebei province in north China, produced 94,320 vehicles and sold 84,830 of them. Established in end-2002, Chang An Bus is the sole base of Chang An Auto Group to produce mall passenger and export-oriented vehicles. Over the nine months, the company gained overseas orders totaling 6,000 vehicles while its products were marketed to more than a dozen of countries and regions, with both export-oriented production and sales reaching respective historical highs. By end-September, the company realized sales revenue of 2.61 billion yuan and contributed 106 million yuan of tax to the state coffer. (10/29/07, Xinhua)
-Hebei Huadan Complete Biodegradation Plastics Company Limited (HHCBP) signed an agreement with Hong Kong Tianhao (Chinese phonetic alphabet) Development Company Ltd. on June 17th, on jointly constructing a new bio-degradation plastics particles project in Yuhua Biology Industry Zone, Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. The facility will produce 150 000 tons of bio-degradation plastics particles per year for shopping bags, one-off dinner bucket, one-off water cups, one-off medical goods and rubbish bags, with a total investment of approximately RMB400 million. Its first phase is scheduled for startup at the end of 2007, with a capacity of 20 000 t/a. (China Chemical Reporter, 7/6/07)
-TTCM China, Inc. (TTCH) announced the acquisition of ShiJiaZhuang HuaTeng Technology Company who is engaged in the design and manufacturing of IC-based smart card water-meters as a strategic acquisition related to the water supply industry. The Company is expected to complete the audit and evaluation of the IC-based smart card water-meter company within this month. The acquired company has the annual production capacity of 300,000 units of such high-technology water-meters. (Knobias, 1/22/08)
-Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group plans to let its subsidiary, Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., Ltd., offer Chinese yuan-denominated A shares in 2008, the Chinese milk powder maker announced on October 10, 2007. The subsidiary is a joint venture founded by Sanlu Group and New Zealand-based Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. in June 2006 and was designed to get listed since its foundation. Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world's biggest dairy exporter, became the second largest shareholder of the Sanlu Group by acquiring a 43% stake in it with CNY 864 million in June 2006. Situated in the north Chinese province of Hebei, Sanlu Group is devoted to providing dairy products in China. It targets a CNY 10 billion revenue for 2007 and a CNY 30 billion by 2010, and the number was CNY 8.6 billion in 2006, said its chairman Tian Wenhua. (10/16/07, SinoCast)
Real Estate
-The Shijiazhuang Municipal Government recently announced the housing construction and guarantee plan for the period 2008-2010. In the next three years, the City will provide 2,530 low-rent apartments to low-income families with housing problems, and will also construct 123,700 apartments of different types, with 103,600 units of 90sq.m-and-below apartments, accounting for 77% of the total residential floor area. Furthermore, the City will design and construct 33,900 units of affordable housing with floor area of 2.05 million sq.m. (12/13/07, China Industry Daily News)
- Hong Kong contractor Chun Wo Holdings will become a mainland property developer with a two billion yuan investment in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province. The company, founded in 1968, will be renamed Chun Wo Development Holdings as part of the change. "The mainland will become the company's major profit contributor over the next few years, especially from the project in Shijiazhuang," said Dominic Pang Yat-ting, managing director of Chun Wo's mainland unit, Chun Wo (China). The company is the sole non-mainland property developer in the city. Its residential and retail project, known as Arc De Royal, covers a total gross floor area of 400,000 square metres and accounts for 85 per cent of the company's land bank. (9/28/07 South China Morning Post)
