Business Environment

Business Environment

Geographical Advantages
Beijing is one of the business and economic engine-rooms of China, and its excellent transport links mean that any issue with domestic or international logistics can be solved with relative ease. In addition, the city is at the heart of the Bohai Economic Rim, encompassing Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Baoding, Langfang, Chengde, Qinhuangdao and Shijiazhuang, a region of intense economic development with a population of about 40 million.

Environmental Protection
Beijing is making significant progress in terms of air quality. In 2006, 241 days were rated to have good or excellent air quality. The waste water treatment rate reached 90%. The city has undertaken an aggressive tree-planting campaign to slow the advance of sandstorms blowing in from the north including in the Yongding River, Chaobai River, Dasha River, Yanqin County and Changpin County areas. In 2006, Beijing planted 12,777 hectares of trees and the city's rate of green coverage reached 42.5%. 

Banking and Insurance
In 2006, the added value output of the city's financial industry reached 97.4 billion RMB, accounting for 12.4% of the city's GDP, ranking first in terms of scale and ratio to GDP among the major cities in China. By the end of 2006, Beijing had 539 financial institutions including 59 banks, 55 insurance companies, 226 securities companies, 199 finance companies, trust companies and foundations. Currently, there are 24 foreign bank branches and 92 representative offices of foreign banks. On April 2, 2007, the HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank and the East Asia Bank successfully registered in China to conduct Renminbi service. In 2006, savings deposits in RMB and foreign exchange in all financial institutions totaled 3.38 trillion RMB.

There are 55 insurance companies and 255 insurance agencies in Beijing with gross insurance premium revenues of 41.15 billion RMB in 2006.

Government Efficiency
According to the World Bank's report on the investment environment among 120 Chinese Cities, Beijing's government efficiency ranked 32nd in the country. According to the Chinese Cities Comprehensive Competitiveness Report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2007, the management competitiveness of the Beijing Municipal Government ranks 3rd in the country. The Beijing Municipal Government is working to improve its efficiency in order to serve enterprises and society better. For example:

1.The city has established one-stop service centers in all districts in Beijing, providing consulting services for foreign investors.
2.The city has also actively constructed an e-government platform, with almost all departments having set up websites and supervision telephone numbers and which has significantly improved the transparency of the administration.

2008 Beijing Olympics
The city's new Olympic Park occupies 1215 hectares of land and includes the Chinese People's Museum and Exhibition Center, gymnasiums and the Olympic Village. The 3 supplementary Olympic venue areas are the ''Western Community'', the ''University Area'' and the ''Northern Scenic Area''. For the Games, the Workers' Stadium and other 3 other sports complexes will be expanded.

The Beijing National Stadium, also known as the ''Bird's Nest'', will be the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics and will be host to the Opening and Closing ceremonies. The "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube," two major competition venues for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, will be unveiled in 2008 and will host several "Good Luck Beijing" sports events at that time. The "Good Luck Beijing" events are held by different international sport federations and will put the new venues to a live test prior to the actual Games.

As the largest sporting event in the world, the Olympics are expected to bring huge business opportunities to the host nation.

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