Guangzhou to further streamline business environment for domestic, global firms

Guangzhou has been ramping up efforts to optimize the business environment, in order to stimulate market vitality by better serving domestic and international enterprises, Economic Information Daily reported.

The China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as Canton Fair, is underway in Guangzhou, with the five-day exhibition expected to attract over 200,000 offline buyers.

As per figures, by the end of 2020, there were nearly 2.7 million market entities in Guangzhou, an increase of 1.03 times compared to 2015. A total of 309 companies out of Fortune 500 list have invested in the city.

According to a report by the National Development and Reform Commission released last year, Guangzhou has the best government service domestically, and ranked among the top cities in comprehensive evaluation of business environment.

"The tax department helped us solve various problems in time, and offered great convenience to our company to participate in the Canton Fair," said Luo Jiahao, a representative of Guangzhou Dongao Electrical Co Ltd, which exported about $9.2 million worth of goods this year and received tax refund of around 6.4 million yuan ($994,600).

Guangzhou streamlined the procedures for starting a business, construction projects approval and tax declaration, providing one-stop services on an online platform.

Besides, the city established the social credit system, giving full play to credibility, as a foundational role in enhancing government's supervision ability.

With contentiously optimized business environment, Guangzhou has made itself a "magnet" attracting increasingly number of companies.

According to a report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, Guangzhou has been listed as the most popular investment city for four consecutive years. The number of market entities currently exceeds 2.7 million.

To solve the fundraising difficulties that companies meet, Guangzhou has set up an ecological fintech circle with integrated services in entrepreneurship, investment, loan and financing.

Since 2017, the government has financially supported more than a thousand small and medium-sized technology-oriented enterprises, with total volume of nearly 400 million yuan.

The number of enterprises receiving equity investment of more than 100 million yuan from institutions surpassed 26, and the gross investment exceeded 5 billion yuan.

Bella (Guangzhou) Intelligent Information Technology Co Ltd, a company committed to smart home appliances in health areas, got the a one-year loan of 15 million yuan from Postal Savings Bank during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an interest rate at only 2.7 percent.

Guangzhou also vigorously encourages enterprises to connect with capital market. At present, there are 197 enterprises in the city listed in the stock exchanges from home and abroad.

Along with Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangzhou has been chosen as the pilot city to deepening reforms on streamlining administration, delegating power, improving regulation and upgrade government services.

In the future, the city will be devoted to further advancing the business environment, to build up a modern and international market mechanism with fair competition, efficient governance, tight supervision and law enforcement.