City going extra mile to attract investors

Editor's Note: China Daily is publishing a series of reports on cross-Straits relations as Taiwan's new leader takes office. The reports are jointly compiled with the Taipei-based China Post. This, the fifth and also the last in the series, explores the measures the mainland city closest to Taiwan takes to attract talent from Taiwan, and what expectations the experts and businessmen have for the new leader.

Officers from the inspection and quarantine bureau in Pingtan, Fujian province, check fruit from Taiwan.[Photo/Xinhua]

As an increasing number of people from Taiwan have been taking advantage of opportunities on the mainland, Pingtan, the mainland's closest city to Taiwan, has introduced a range of tailor-made policies to attract talent from across the Straits.

Pingtan, which has a population of around 420,000 and occupies about 400 square kilometers, is home to a cross-Straits free trade area. And, with it only taking two hours to travel across the Taiwan Straits from Pingtan to Taipei on the high-speed vessel Haixiahao, it is a popular destination.

The local government has taken several steps to attract more people from Taiwan, including acknowledging Taiwan's professional licenses and courting its leading human resources companies.

According to Wu Pinyun, an official with the district, architects and pharmacists from Taiwan can now get straight to work in Pingtan with Taiwan-issued diplomas, and law firms can set up representative agencies on the mainland.

Figures from the Pingtan government show that, since 2011, the district has officially brought in more than 600 skilled workers from Taiwan, including several that work as employees in the district government and the district's government-funded enterprises.

By 2030, the city expects between 200,000 and 300,000 people from Taiwan to be working there.

The local government has also taken steps to make it easier for people from across the Straits to buy homes in Pingtan, said Deng Peishu, deputy director of the district government's publicity department.

According to rules released by the Pingtan district government in mid March, Taiwan house buyers can now enjoy the same beneficial policies as mainland residents, including minimum down payments being lowered from the previous 30 percent to 20.

And, unlike mainland buyers who have to pay tax at a higher rate on second homes in the city, Taiwan people can get a beneficial tax rate－as low as that levied on their first apartment－if they buy a second home there.

Alice Lin, 25, who is from Chiayi in Taiwan, told China Daily she would like to buy a house in Pingtan, given that the local government has put forward encouraging policies.

"It makes me feel stable while living in my own house," she said. "I plan to live in Pingtan for years to explore the tourism market here, so why not buy?"

But others have hesitated over buying a house in a small city where they fear the real estate market could cool down.

Nien Shun-jung, a Taiwan businessman who opened a gift shop in Pingtan three months ago, said he bought an apartment in Guangzhou, when he worked there for a decade.

He said that he would prefer to buy homes in the mainland's first-tier cities.

Mu Qiufeng, a salesman with Haitan Ancient Town real estate project in Pingtan, said his company's residential apartment project, which will be unveiled in June, has attracted many people.

"I hope that the cross-Straits relationship can be enhanced, so more people from Taiwan will consider settling and buying homes here," he said.

Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn

Yang Jie contributed to this story.