Core reading
“China is changing very fast, and we need to be part of it. We are very optimistic whether it is to develop domestic business in China or to cooperate with China’s energy companies to develop international business.
Statistics show that by the end of 2018, the number of foreign-invested enterprises in China has reached 960,000, and the actual utilization of foreign capital has exceeded 2 trillion US dollars. Although the number of foreign-invested enterprises is less than 3% of the total number of Chinese enterprises, they have contributed 10% of China’s employment, 20% of tax revenue and 50% of China’s exports.
“Foreign investment plays a decisive role in achieving high-quality economic growth and opening to the outside world at a high level.” Recently, Pang Guanglian, secretary-general of Sinopec Federation International Capacity Cooperation Enterprise Alliance, summarized and pointed out at the “Petrochemical Industry Development Conference”.
With the further liberalization of China’s policy of encouraging foreign investment, the highly noticed Foreign Investment Law was passed during the two sessions this year and will be implemented on January 1, 2020. Recently, a number of insiders told reporters in an interview that, as a basic law in the field of foreign investment, the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law means that China will usher in the most relaxed era of foreign investment, and the petrochemical industry is no exception.
| Benzalkonium chloride |
Continuous Improvement of Foreign Business Environment
In recent two years, our government has promulgated a number of policies intensively. Through constantly improving the legal system of foreign investment, we can provide institutional guarantee for expanding opening up and actively utilizing foreign investment.
In June 2018, the Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2018 Edition), issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, significantly reduced the restrictions on foreign investment, thus eliminating the policy barriers to foreign-funded chain gas stations. In December of the same year, the negative list of market access (2018 edition) was issued to realize the “non-prohibited and immediate access” of investment in areas other than the list. All market participants can enter the list equally according to law.
In March of this year, the new Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment solicited opinions from the public. According to reports, in the new edition of the catalogue, more than 400 items in 13 categories, including manufacturing, chemical fibers, rubber and plastics, are listed as the national catalogue of industries encouraging foreign investment, including 21 items involving chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing. “These areas may attract foreign investors’willingness to invest in China. Once the new catalogue is released and implemented, it will mean that China will open the door for foreign enterprises to enter China’s chemical manufacturing industry in a large scale.” Pang Guanglian said.
In the view of Zhao Weiliang, chairman of Daudal (China) Investment Co., Ltd., the Foreign Investment Law is another important example of the more standardized and fair competitive environment for foreign-funded enterprises and the formation of a new pattern of comprehensive opening-up in the past 40 years since China’s reform and opening-up.
According to Pang Guanglian, China’s ranking in the global business environment convenience ranking has continued to rise in the past three years, ranking 46th in the world in 2018. Among them, the company ranks 28th in terms of starting enterprises and 6th in terms of executing contracts.
Increasing Foreign Investment
At present, China is the world’s largest chemical market, accounting for about 40% of the market share, and plays a leading role in the growth of the global chemical market. It is estimated that by 2030, China will account for nearly 50% of the global gross domestic product. It is self-evident that the huge potential of market growth is attractive to the whole world.
“Sinopec has entered a stage of high-quality development, but it still faces a series of outstanding problems such as safety, energy saving and environmental protection. Domestic and foreign enterprises have considerable cooperation prospects in the fields of technical cooperation and market development at home and abroad, which can truly achieve complementary advantages and sustainable development.” Liu Maoshu, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP China, said in an interview with reporters.
Especially in the past two years, the continuous optimization of foreign business environment has accelerated the investment decision-making of petrochemical foreign investment. Especially in the field of high-end petroleum and petrochemical industry, Shell, Basf, ExxonMobil, Saudi Foundation Industry Corporation, Saudi Arabia Amy Oil Company and many other well-known multinational oil companies have expanded their investment territory in China, and announced that major petrochemical projects involving joint ventures or sole proprietorships have blossomed in many places in China, with an estimated total investment of more than 37 billion US dollars.
| Bacillus thuringiensis |
According to the Development Report of Foreign Investment Enterprises in China’s Petroleum and Chemical Industry (2018 Edition), by the end of 2017, there were more than 7200 production-oriented foreign investment enterprises in China’s petrochemical industry from 95 countries and regions around the world. Although only 4.6% of the total number of production enterprises in the petrochemical industry, in 2017, the main business income exceeded 2.6 trillion yuan, accounting for nearly one fifth of the main business income of the whole industry. Meanwhile, the average registered capital of foreign-funded enterprises is much higher than the average registered capital level of domestic production enterprises in the petrochemical industry, more than five times.
According to the above-mentioned report, by the end of 2017, foreign-invested enterprises in China’s petrochemical industry had made use of more than 280 billion US dollars in various types of investment, an increase of more than 15% over the previous year.
Foreign capital will play a leading role in industry demonstration
In the interview, Liu Maoshu believed that China’s increasingly open foreign business environment would help foreign-funded energy enterprises to further play the role of industry demonstration and pioneer, introduce new investment and operation modes, product standards and advanced intelligent manufacturing concepts, inject new vitality into the development of China’s petrochemical industry, and at the same time, promote the domestic petrochemical industry to shape a new market pattern and operation. Logic, and then form the competition pattern of the whole industry chain.
“As a product supplier of the whole oil and gas industry chain and one of the first international energy companies to enter China, Daudal has been actively involved in the whole industry chain business of China’s energy industry for the past 40 years. Looking forward to the future, we believe that in such a more open environment, Doddle will have more opportunities. We are confident in China’s economic development and more committed to the Chinese market. Zhao Weiliang said.
As a leading global supplier of specialty materials and chemical technology, industrial control technology and Internet of Things solutions, Honeywell has been expanding its business in China since 1935. At present, its four major business groups have settled in China, and its Asia-Pacific headquarters is located in Shanghai. Liu Maoshu also told reporters: “In the future, we will continue to deepen the innovation and development of environmental protection technology, promote extensive cooperation with Chinese enterprises, and provide tailor-made advanced environmental protection technology, products and solutions.”
| Sodium Molybdate |
The elimination of policy barriers and the recent optimization of foreign investment environment for China’s foreign-funded chain gas stations have directly led to many investment decisions such as BP’s layout of thousands of gas stations in China.
Recently, in an interview with reporters, Dedley, the global CEO of BP Group, pointed out: “In the past, BP has been developing its business in China in a cooperative way. China’s Foreign Investment Law and the new round of reform in China’s oil and gas industry enable us to independently develop the retail territory in China. The first practical result is to directly help us implement the investment strategy of increasing 1000 retail gas stations in China, and expand the charging business of gas stations. BP has accumulated very good experience in this respect.
“China is changing very fast, and we need to be part of it. We are very optimistic whether it is to develop domestic business in China or to cooperate with China’s energy companies to develop international business. Dadley said.
| http://www.lubonchem.com/ |