Helen Deng
SHENZHEN and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries were set to accelerate cooperation, a conference on Shenzhen-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation was told Friday.
The launch of China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone in 2010 and the development of Shenzhen-Haiphong Economic and Trade Zone were bringing historic opportunities to the economy of ASEAN countries and to Shenzhen, the conference was told.
Held at Wuzhou Guest House, the conference was attended by Shenzhen government officials and consular officials of seven ASEAN countries.
Wu Yihuan, vice mayor of Shenzhen, said ASEAN was Shenzhen s third-largest trade partner, and the closest emerging market to Shenzhen, and the most stable importer of Shenzhen products.
She said the Shenzhen government would encourage more Shenzhen entrepreneurs to invest in ASEAN countries.
By the end of last year, Shenzhen investors had set up 57 enterprises in ASEAN countries, with a total investment of US$477.5 million. Businesses range from high tech to traditional manufacturing.
Shenzhen began to construct the Shenzhen-Haiphong Economic and Trade Zone in Vietnam in 2007. The project is inviting companies and the first Shenzhen investors are expected to settle there by the end of this year, according to Feng Zehui, general manager of Shenzhen Shenyue Joint Investment Co. Ltd.
Edi Yusuf, the Indonesian consul general in Guangzhou, said Shenzhen and ASEAN countries should consider collaborating in the creative industries.
Yusuf said the Indonesian Government was encouraging the film and fashion industries, and Shenzhen companies in these areas were welcome to invest in Indonesia.
The trade volume between Shenzhen and ASEAN countries rose at an annual rate of over 30 percent for the past decade.
