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Dear Members, Partners and Friends,
We are pleased to invite you to an event that will
take place on June 5th in Zurich and that will give you the
opportunity to learn more about a unique operation that will
allow many Swiss companies to develop their business in China: the
transformation of Hainan province into a Free Trade Port by 2025,
with special tax policies and visa rules to attract investors,
businesses and individuals.
Still little known in the West a few years ago, Hainan
has strongly gained in popularity for several reasons. Sometimes
referred to as the "Hawaii of the East", China's
southernmost island has become a popular high-end tourist
destination. Slightly smaller than Switzerland, it is also one of
the first provinces to open up to foreign trade in the 1980s
and has been a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) since 1988.
On June 1, 2020, Chinese authorities released the
overall plan for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, a
large-scale plan to transform the entire island province into a
free trade port (FTP) - making it the largest special economic
zone in China. The FTP is expected to be a game-changer for
China's economy. The island will have a simplified visa policy
for nationals from many countries, making it easier for
foreigners to visit and do business.
In addition to a phased strategy for capital account
opening and free movement of capital, Hainan will offer greater
market access to foreign businesses, especially in sectors like
telecommunications, finance, tourism, luxury goods, healthcare,
medical and education. It will also become a center for
duty-free shopping, making it competitive against Hong Kong,
Singapore and South Korea. In 2021, Hainan accounted for 13% of
China's domestic luxury spend, compared to 6% pre-pandemic.
For all these reasons, we can only encourage you to
attend this unique event where you will be able to listen and meet
Mr. Ni Qiang, Vice Governor of The People's Government of Hainan
Province. Wang Shihting, Ambassador of China to Switzerland, will
also give a speech.
As the capacity is limited, we invite you to register
as soon as possible. You will find below the detailed program and
other useful information HERE.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Romain
Barrabas, China Market Access Manager of the Swiss Centers: romain.barrabas@swisscenters.org.
Best regards,
Swiss Centers Group
Organizers
Department of Commerce of Hainan Province
Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development
Co-organizers
Swiss Centers
Orient Legende (Schweiz) GmbH
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