Advantageous Location
 The
Pudong New Area, with a size of 522 square kilometres
and a registered population of 1.5618 million, is a triangular
area to the east of the Huangpu River and to the west
of the Yangtze River estuary. It occupies the central
spot of China's coastal line where the Yangtze River pours
into the East China Sea. With the developed downtown Shanghai
and the vast and rich Yangtze River Delta in its west
precincts, the new area has an easy access to economically-developed
countries and regions on the Pacific Rim and in Southeast
Asia. The geographic location offers the area exceptional
advantages.
Economic Development
In 1990, Pudong's GDP was 6.024 billion yuan, but the
figure soared to 70.885 billion yuan by 1998, representing
an increase of 370% according to the comparable prices
or an average yearly growth of 21.3%. In 1998, the average
per capita GDP reached 45,800 yuan in this area.
Investment Environment
 To
improve its investment environment, Pudong has insisted
on giving priority to the infrastructure construction.
During the 1990-98 period, the new area invested 62 billion
yuan into urban construction projects, accounting for
26.8% of its total investment in the fixed assets. Ten
key infrastructure projects under construction during
the Eighth Five-Year Plan period (1990-1995), including
the Nanpu Bridge, the Yangpu Bridge, widening of Yanggao
Road, the combined sewage project, construction of the
Waigaoqiao New Harbour, the Waigaoqiao Power Plant, the
second phase of the Pudong Gasworks and the Jinqiao Flyover,
have all been completed and put into operation. Today,
10 new key projects, including the Pudong airport, a deep-water
harbour, the second phase of the Waigaoqiao Power Plant,
a railway, a crossing the Huangpu River communications
project, the first phase of the Metro Route II, a light
rail, the Pudong section of the Outer-Ring Road, the sewage
discharge project, and the East Chin Sea natural gas exploitation
project, are all under construction.
Economic Cooperation
The favourable geographic location and the continuously
improving local investment environment have attracted
throngs of Chinese and overseas investors to the Pudong
New Area. By the end of 1998, the new area had sealed
contracts with overseas investors on 5,472 projects, involving
a total foreign investment of 17.7 billion US dollars.
Of those projects, there were 449 large ones, each involving
investment of more than 10 million US dollars. Eighty-eight
world famous multinationals have invested in 149 projects
in Pudong. The central government departments and other
provinces and cities in China have set up accumulatively
more than 4,728 enterprises in the Pudong New Area, attracting
a combined investment of 26.85 billion yuan.
Pudong`s CBD
 By
the end of 1998, construction of 213 highrises had been
completed in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone. The
People's Bank of China and major Chinese-funded commercial
banks have moved their national or regional headquarters
into Lujiazui. Nineteen foreign banks have won approval
to deal in RMB business in the zone and branches or representative
offices of more than 40 foreign banks, security companies
and insurance firms have started operation there. A group
of state and city-level markets, including the Shanghai
Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Property Rights Exchange,
the China Talents Market (Shanghai), the Shanghai Real
Estate Trade Centre and the Shanghai Grain and Edible
Oil Exchange, have already moved into the new buildings.
This has led to a confluence of markets of production
factors.
Free Trade Zone
The Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone is one of the largest
bonded zones in China. With a bonded area of 6.4 square
kilometres, the free trade zone is making progresses
simultaneously in international trade, export processing
and bonded storage businesses. From 1992, when the bonded
area was put into operation, to the end of 1998, more
than 3,580 enterprises had been established in the free
trade zone and the value of their accumulated transactions
in the bonded market reached 29.6 billion US dollars.
Export Processing Zone
Adhering to the principle of building a "high-standard,
world market-oriented, multi-functional and economically
radiant" development zone, the Jinqiao Export Processing
Zone leads the new area in cultivating its own functions
and today, it has begun to reap the returns. By the
end of 1998, 109 industrial enterprises had already
been completed and put into operation and some of their
products had reached the world advanced levels in 1990s.
In 1998, their total industrial output value hit 24
billion yuan.
 Adhering
to the principle of building a "high-standard,
world market-oriented, multi-functional and economically
radiant" development zone, the Jinqiao Export Processing
Zone leads the new area in cultivating its own functions
and today, it has begun to reap the returns. By the
end of 1998, 109 industrial enterprises had already
been completed and put into operation and some of their
products had reached the world advanced levels in 1990s.
In 1998, their total industrial output value hit 24
billion yuan.
High-Tech Park
Zhangjiang High-Tech Park has been accelerating its
development. By the end of 1998, more than 25 high-tech
projects had been established in the park. Among them,
the biomedical projects were most prominent. After the
park being designated as the country's bio-medicine
research and production base and with continuous flow-in
of large projects including the Roche China Headquarters,
Zhangjiang has further established itself as a high-tech
centre.
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