Cities welcome foreign funds

The G60 High-Tech Corridor, the Songjiang-initiated alliance of nine major cities in the Yangtze River Delta, yesterday released a 30-point plan to boost business.

The new policies, unveiled at the CIIE, include measures to promote foreign investment in the corridor by easing restrictions.

The threshold for foreign capital to invest in the corridor will be lowered; restrictions on the level of foreign equity in securities and futures companies will be eased so that more foreign investment can operate intermediate businesses with Chinese customers; and the value-added tax will be reduced for foreign investment in science technology.

Formed by Songjiang in 2016, the G60 alliance links key cities on the G60 expressway: Songjiang, Hangzhou, Jinhua, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Suzhou, Xuancheng, Wuhu and Hefei.

The cities are also working together to improve traffic infrastructure in the region, including construction of the Suzhou-Huzhou bullet train and widening existing expressways.

The alliance will attend future CIIEs as a single entity.