The Fujian port city of Xiamen recorded a remarkable growth in overseas investment in the first quarter in 2016.
From January to March, 86 outbound investment projects were registered, an increase of 350 percent from the same period in 2015. Xiamen investment in contracted investment projects reached $1.52 billion, growing 110 percent from the same period in 2015.
Thirty-five projects received investment from Xiamen totaling $1.47 billion, with the investment in each project surpassing $10 million. Thirteen projects received investments of more than $50 million each. Four projects received investment of more than $1 billion each.
Xiamen-based Hengxing Group invested $110 million to set up a mining company in Vietnam to extract iron ores and produce steels.
Aside from the mining sector, investors from Xiamen also made investments in retail and wholesale, power supply, real estate, construction, health care and agricultural sectors.
The retail and wholesale sector received 64.1 percent of the total investment from Xiamen, equating to $970 million; the agriculture sector received 10.5 percent; the mining sector, 7.8 percent; software and IT sector, 6.6 percent; and the leasing and business service sector, 3.3 percent.
Xiamen Eye Center, an affiliate of Xiamen University, opened an eye bank in Sri Lanka with an investment of $47 million, becoming Xiamen's first overseas investment project in the health care sector.
Fifteen countries and regions received overseas investment from Xiamen in the first quarter, including Vietnam, Australia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, US and Indonesia.
Xiamen's investment in Hong Kong rose 440 percent to reach $1.1 billion from January to March. In March alone, Xiamen's investment in Hong Kong reached $710 million, most of which went to the retailing and wholesaling sector.
A Xiamen-based agriculture company invested $90 million to set up a modern agriculture park in Cambodia; a groundbreaking event marking Xiamen's first investment in the country.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
