12.2007

FUJIAN PROVINCE

Major Economic Indicators

Notes: ¹ In real terms ² For all state-owned enterprises and other forms with annual sales over RMB 5 million
Sources: Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2007, China's customs statistics 8.2007

General Background

Fujian is located in the south eastern coast, opposite to Taiwan. It has a total area of 121,400 sq.km. Total population stood at 35.6 million in 2006.

The Southeast Fujian area which comprises five cities and counties -- Fuzhou,Xiamen,Putian, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, is the economic hub of Fujian, accounting for 77.1% of the province's GDP in 2006.

In 2004, Fujian proposed a new strategy -- "Westbank Economic Zone", a zone along the west coast of the Taiwan Straits (including parts of Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces) for socio-economic development.

Industries

Agriculture still plays an important role, although the sector's share in GDP has been decreasing over the years. In 2006, heavy industry accounted for 49% of the total industrial value-added while light industry took up the rest.

Composition of GDP (%)

Source: Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2007

Value-added Share of Leading Industry Groups (2006)

Source: Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2007

Within the tertiary sector, finance and insurance was the fastest growing industry in 2006, recording an increase of 26.5%, followed by the real estate (+24.2%).

Tourism

Fujian is rich in tourism resources, such as Wuyi Mountain, Gulangyu Isle, Tailing Golden Lake, etc. In 2006, Fujian received 67.8 million (+19.3%) domestic tourists with tourism receipts of RMB69.4 billion (+20.0%) and 2.3 million (+16.5%) overseas tourists with foreign exchange income of US$1,471 million (+12.7%). Visitors from Hong Kong increased by 16.9% to 0.68 million in 2006.

Foreign Trade

In recent years, general trade has been growing, its share of foreign trade increased from 43.6% in 2004 to 52.0% in 2006.

Major export markets include the US, Japan and Hong Kong. Fujian's exports to Hong Kong increased by 6.4% in 2006 to US$3.1 billion. Major export items included mechanical & electrical products, automatic data processing equipment, garments & related parts and footwear etc.

Major import goods included mechanical & electrical products, liquid crystal television, plastics of primary pattern etc. Major import sources included Japan, the US and Germany. Fujian's import from Hong Kong stood at US$149 million in 2006.

Foreign Investment

Many world leading multinationals such as Kodak, Dell, Boeing, Nokia, Siemens, GE, Swire, TDK, ABB and Panasonic have established a presence in Fujian.

FDI in Fujian

Source: Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2007

In 2006, foreign investments in Fujian are mainly engaged in manufacturing industries (54% of actual foreign investment) and real estate (37.5% of actual foreign investment).

Hong Kong is the largest source of FDI in Fujian, accounting for 41% of the province's utilized FDI in 2006. Taiwan and the US are other major investment sources.

Increasing amounts of foreign investments have been channeled into infrastructure, agriculture, capital & technology-intensive projects in recent years. Given China's WTO commitment to further liberalize its services sector, there are signs that more FDI are engaged in services.

Consumer Market

In 2006, retail sales of consumer goods rose 15.3% to RMB270.4 billion, annual per capita disposal income of urban households reached RMB13,753 (+11.6%).

Fujian's consumer expenditure pattern is undergoing structural change, their expenditure on services, such as transportation and communications, and recreation, cultural & education have gained in relative share.

Composition of Per Capita Consumption of Urban Household (%)

Source: Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2007

The retail landscape in Fujian is also changing. Apart from traditional department stores, various forms of modern operation such as chain stores, supermarkets, warehouse type hypermarkets and convenience stores are popular. Major overseas-invested retail enterprises in Fujian include Wal-mart from the US, Metro from Germany, Carrefour from France, Osun from France and Trust-mart from Taiwan.

Economic Indicators of Major Cities (2006)

Source: Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2007