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Bring on Beijing 2008: Conference kick-starts commercial commotion2004/04/15
When you type "Olympic economy" into Google Search, 385,000 results appear in 0.06 seconds. What is Olympic economy? The spokesperson of Beijing Municipal Developmentand Reform Commission (BMDRC) answers Business Beijing. Olympic economy is a complicated concept that refers to both direct and indirect profits made through hosting the games, said Lu Yingchuan, deputy director general of the Commission. The conference will introduce to investors from home and abroad 387 projects related to urban construction, environmental protection, high-tech and manufacturing industries, tourism, culture, sports and logistics. The city encourages private and foreign investors to participate in its Olympic economy strategy. More than 90 foreign companies have registered to attend the conference. Foreign investors can download the English language registration form from the website: http://www.bjinvest.gov.cn//english/index04.jsp AccelerationThe Olympic Games is expected to become an accelerator for Beijings development by upgrading the city s comprehensive competitiveness and speeding up its globalization and modernization. Beijing will use this opportunity to step up the restructuring of its economy. Through implementation of the Olympic economy strategy, Beijing expects to maintain a balanced development between urban and rural areas. It plans to guide investors to channel more investment into the development of suburban counties and districts, and expects to use this opportunity to adjust its industrial structure. Realizing the great demand generated by the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing is also planning to promote the development of the service industry. Further, the event is a good opportunity for local enterprises to win more market recognition for their products. Hence, they are urged to foster more brand-name products. StimulusBeijings Olympics will offer ample opportunities to the city, the country and the world. The implementation of the Olympic economy strategy will generate greater demand in investment, products and services. It is expected that Beijings total investment in the next four years will reach 1.5 trillion yuan (US$180 billion), including 280 billion yuan (US$33.8 billion) used in Olympic-related projects. The investment will be channeled into construction, operation and maintenance of Olympic venues and related facilities; improvement of urban facilities and service capacities; construction of satellite cities and rural townships; and construction of key industrial bases and industrial parks. The Games are expected to drive rapid growth of the consumer market, especially the cultural, sports, transportation, telecommunications, real estate and automobile sectors. It is predicted the total amount of consumer expenditure will reach 1.5 trillion yuan (US$180 billion) in the next four years, and the Games will directly generate consumer demand worth 100 billion yuan (US$12 billion). The forthcoming event has already stimulated market demand. The city s total retail volume of consumer goods reached 191.7 billion yuan (US$23.2 billion) last year, 14.5 percent over 2002 the highest growth rate in recent years. The Olympic Games will also stimulate market demand for building materials and related equipment for urban construction. In addition, demand for products for environmental protection, telecommunications and transportation as well as services like tourism, health care, financing, logistics, retailing, catering and education are expected to grow dramatically. It will further open the urban infrastructure construction and operation market to domestic and overseas investors. And the public service market will be open to investors this year. The citys authorities will strengthen their efforts in reforming investment and fund-raising mechanisms, and improving market access and regulation mechanisms to offer a fair and open environment for domestic and overseas investors.
Olympic Projects in Starters HandsThe 2008 Olympic Games will allow Beijing to upgrade its infrastructure, optimize its economic structure and capture the worlds attention. And at the same time, the projects needed for the world s most prestigious sporting event will offer business opportunities to domestic and overseas investors. Lu Yingchuan, spokesman of Beijing Municipal Developing and Reform Commission (BMDRC), said from now to 2008, Beijing will spend 1.5 trillion yuan (US$180 billion) on city construction and renovation. Investment related to the Olympics will exceed 280 billion yuan (US$33.73 billion). The commission, as sponsor and marketing co-ordinator of Olympic projects, will present 387 ventures, expected to cost over 135 billion yuan (US$16 billion), on April 18 and 19 to investors from home and abroad. The projects involve infrastructure construction, stadium and gym construction, modern manufacturing, high technology industrialization, environmental protection, commerce, tourism, medical services and education, Lu told Business Beijing in an exclusive interview. Among the total, 20 giant projects involving 70 billion yuan (US$8.43 billion) covering the city s metro lines, water supply, high technology and biological engineering will be crucial. Aprils promotion is a trigger for the start of marketing related to the Olympic economy, Lu said. The commission will invite 20 professional consulting institutes engaged in research, accounting, law and public relations to provide it with marketing suggestions and proposals. The promotion, tender and operation of all Olympic projects must be conducted in line with market principles and the market mechanism will guarantee openness, fairness and transparency of each process, Lu said. He said the government would provide efficient and convenient administrative services, instead of interference, for enterprises participating in Olympic development. To meet the target, a specific company Invest Beijing International was set up. The company provides whole-process and professional services and plays the role of a bridge between government, enterprises and investors, Lu said. Invest Beijing International has launched a website: www.bjinvest.gov.cn. The Chinese-language website introduces the capital city s investment environment, interprets governmentl policies, releases investment information and provides various services for investors. All of the Olympic projects are presented on the website and visitors can get detailed information to find how to complete administrative procedures, Lu said. In addition to the Olympic projects and administrative services, the website showcases all the investment projects in Beijing and offers an online financial, insurance, taxation and law consulting service. Officials say it provides a direct, practical and effective service to investors. Beijing will take full use of the Olympic opportunity to make the city a leading metropolis in the world, Lu said. In some sectors, foreign involvement may assist domestic counterparts to keep up with international giants. Lu cited logistics as an example, as there are no large foreign logistics firms in the capital as yet, while the demand for that sector during the Olympics is to surge dramatically. According to statistics from the policy research office of Beijing Municipal Government, the logistics demand for the two-week Games will hit 43.2 billion yuan (US$5.2 billion). So far, the city government has formulated a design to establish a sound and efficient logistics system. Four logistics parks are under construction in rural Beijing. The parks and related projects offer tremendous possibilities to investors, said Lu. Event to Offer Business Opportunities Considering the strong demand in the infrastructure development market and the growth of related industries driven by the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing will offer many opportunities for the business community at home and abroad to flourish. These businesses may directly participate in the design, construction and even operation of the Olympic venues and related facilities. The local government has pledged the Games will be operated in a globalized and market-oriented manner. It will invite public tenders for the design and construction of the Olympic venues, and the purchasing of equipment and materials. The citys development and reform commission recently revealed that it has selected 60 research projects (Beijing s 11th five-year-plan) for open bids. The research projects will cover urban construction, social development and industrial development. Bidders will include domestic enterprises, research institutions and industrial associations, as well as international institutions. In addition, local authorities said that the operation of Olympic venues will be open to domestic and foreign enterprises after the Games closes. Participating in the marketing programme of the Organizing Committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will also be promising for domestic and overseas businesses. The organizing committees marketing programme will include television broadcasting, sponsorship, product provision, donation, franchised operation, issuing stamps and souvenirs, sales of tickets and a variety of cultural activities, through which enterprises may be authorized to use the Olympic logos and gain access to the exclusive product and service markets. In addition to the fields directly related to the games, domestic and foreign businesses should pay attention to sectors which will emerge with the Olympic economy. Chinese analysts predict the city s annual GDP growth rate at over 9 percent in the next few years. The high GDP growth also means an increase in the income of local residents, thus driving consumer demand in sectors including cultural goods, sports, transportation, telecommunications, real estate, automobiles and other consumer goods. Also, the Games will bring a boom in service sectors including tourism, conventions and exhibitions, catering, entertainment and finance. It is estimated Beijing will receive about 4.6 million tourists in 2008, compared with the present figure of 3 million. Since the local government has decided to host a high-tech Olympics, high-tech sectors such as IT, new materials and biological pharmaceuticals will also be attractive for investors. A traditional IT powerhouse in China, Beijing will build such industries as integrated circuits, liquid crystal displays, telecommunications, computers and software into the pillars of its economy. It is predicted the IT sector will reach 150 billion yuan (US$18 billion) in value of industrial output in 2008. See overleaf for Tentative Programme
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