Guangdong Province Kicks Off Campaign to Win New Business
Guangdong province, the southern Chinese province which
borders on Hong Kong, and the initial source of the SARS
virus, has kicked off a business promotion campaign to
win back business.
The campaign has been named "Win Back Business Lost
to SARS". Guangdong industries which have been hit
particularly hard by SARS are clothing and textiles, toys
and jewelry. Many businesses have lost 50% of their business.
For the first time, domestic transportation showed a fall,
and air cargo shipments fell by 33%. Sea and rail transportation
fell by 21% and 16% repectively.
The restaurant business has also been hard hit, and revenue
fell from Chinese RMB8.3 billion in January, to 5.9 billion
in April. The exchange rate between the US dollar and
Chinese RMB is 8.2 to US$1.
In order to offset this loss, the Guangdong provincial
government will focus on winning back business people
who were afraid to come to Guangdong because of the SARS
crisis. More than 150 overseas customers will be invited
to Guangdong, where government officials will prepare
presentations to them on the current situation. At the
same time, they will be asked to give their opinions on
how Guangdong can improve the investment climate, and
measures to combat SARS.
In China, Guangdong will also send 12 teams to other
Chinese provinces to explain the newest measures taken
by the Guangdong government.
China's provinces compete with each other to win investments,
and often tax each other's products at their borders.
Sometimes, the Chinese central government serves as a
mediator when provincial governments cannot reach agreement.
Before you go, did you like this article?
If so, you can receive a free email newsletter version
each weekday. Sign up using the China Business Express
form on this page.
