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New zone opened
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THE largest export processing zone in China has become operational in Shenzhen, offering the promise of giving an economic boost to the export-oriented city.
The Shenzhen Export Processing Zone, which covers an area of three square kilometres in Longgang District, passed official inspection by the State authorities on Saturday.
The zone, the largest of the 15 export processing zones in China, was approved in April 2000. It will focus on electronic information, precision machinery, bioengineering and medicine, and new material industries, officials said.
Six big firms from Japan, the United States, Israel and Taiwan have agreed to invest a total of US$500 million in the zone, the officials added.
Among other incentives, the zone offers top preferential treatment similar to those found in bonded zones: All raw materials, machinery and office utensils are allowed to be imported duty free, if they will be used to manufacture goods for export.
Exporters can make Customs declarations at the zone 24 hours a day. Several government departments have opened offices in the zone, and promise to complete all approval paperwork within 15 working days for a start-up company, or two working days for an investment of US$10 million and above, if all required application documents are submitted.
Exporters in the zone, which is only 20km from the city's Yantian Port, will not require the use of Hong Kong ports, thereby avoiding the chronically jammed checkpoints and saving a lot of time and money.
Executive Vice-Mayor Li Decheng asked relevant departments to offer timely and high-quality service to foreign investors, saying the zone will play a crucial role in achieving the city's goals as spelled out in the 10th Five-Year development plan.
Gong Zheng, director-general of Shenzhen Customs, vowed to simply procedures using advanced technology to enable speedy Customs clearance at the zone, which, along with Longgang Industrial Zone, will generate a total industrial output of 60 billion yuan (US$7.2 billion) in 2005.
(Lin Min)
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