Yesterday, Dalian Party secretary Xia Deren met respectively with Mayor Huang Xingguo of Tianjin, William Rhodes, former chairman of Citigroup and honorary citizen of Dalian, Katherine Tsang, chairman of Greater China Region of Standard Chartered Bank , Sharon, managing director of Kardan Group, Takeshi Niinami, president of Lawson, Inc., and Kevin Tyler, managing director of Asia-Pacific region of BT Group. Cao Aihua, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Dalian Committee and vice mayor, and Dong Chengfa, director of the Administrative Committee of Dalian Huayuankou Economic Zone, attended the meeting.
Successful hosting of Summer Davos for four years has benefited from a good communication between Dalian and Tianjin. Huang Xingguo said that the Summer Davos in Tianjin is becoming better and better based on the experience of Dalian. With rapid economic development, Dalian has truly become a shining Pearl of the North in China. Xia extended his congratulations to the success of Tianjin s Summer Davos and said that, as a core city of the area around Bohai, driving ahead with the construction and development of Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in recent years has realized fast economic growth and has seen great development in various social undertakings; the clean and tidy environment of Tianjin Old Area and the upgrading and transformation of their traditional industries are worth learning from.
Since the establishment of the first branch in 2008, Citibank has gradually expanded its business in Dalian. William Rhodes told Xia that Dalian has become one of the key cities for their development in China; he will spare no effort to introduce Dalian to the world, "I have already become a salesman for Dalian." Xia assured him that Dalian will continue to support the development of Citibank in the city and expected that Mr. Rhodes will, as an honorary citizen of Dalian, continue to promote bilateral cooperation to achieve common development in Dalian.
Within only one year or so, Dalian Branch of Standard Chartered Bank was up to the top three branches in China. Katherine Tsang said that they are very optimistic about their development in Dalian and they will soon set up new branches throughout the city. Xia said that since the plan for opening and developing the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone has been approved into a national strategy, Dalian has played a more important role as a regional financial center. We expect that the Standard Chartered Bank will expand their business in Dalian and gain more remarkable achievements.
In 2010, Kardan Group will begin the construction of the only commercial center in East Port Area. Sharon told Xia that they will be elaborate in the planning and design phases. Meanwhile, as a key city for developing water treatment, Dalian has had business cooperation with Kardan Group in the construction of the water treatment plant, and equipment procurement. Xia said that planning and design are major components in a commercial project, particularly in the East Port Area - the most important CBD of Dalian. He expected that Kardan Group will create a world-class design and start the project once the plan is approved and confirmed.
Lawson, Inc. has made it clear that they will set up their convenience stores in Dalian, the plan for which is now being refined. Xia said that with the simultaneous development of cities and communities, to meet the needs of the people's daily lives is becoming more important. Dalian welcomes Lawson, Inc. and expects that they will bring their advanced concepts and operations along with their stores. Takeshi Niinami expressed his hope that they will set up 30 stores in Dalian within the first year and improve the entire value chain of convenience stores with quick establishment of supply, logistics and a computer systems network.
As an earlier British company providing telecommunication services in Dalian, Kevin Taylor said, BT valued their long-term partnership with Dalian. For the last few years, China has shifted from a base for the world's equipment manufacturing to a center for cross-border trade, which has brought great changes to the logistics. The development of Dalian's IT industry and logistics industry has proved a great convenience for the operations of BT in Dalian. Xia said that as China opens up, we expect that BT Group will continue to expand their business in Dalian; meanwhile, the Dalian Party Committee and the Dalian Municipal Government will provide them with better services.
From: Dalian Daily
