Last year witnessed Jingzhou's total value of output topping RMB 300 billion and reaching RMB 310.82 billion. The year 2022 was a milestone year for Jingzhou's industry.
Compared with its past, last year, Jingzhou had 1,414 standard-sized or larger enterprises and 10 listed enterprises, the biggest numbers in its history. Unprecedentedly, during the whole year, 12 projects with each valued at RMB 10 billion were introduced, of which 3 were put into operation and 9 under construction. The degree of element assurance and the effort to acquire funds were unseen in its history, and Jingzhou enjoyed the greatest support in its history in terms of land and energy consumption quotas. Jingzhou’s business environment has been improved by the biggest margin and its ranking rose to the seventh position from the fourteen among all counterparts in the province, higher than ever in its history.
In 2022, in Jingzhou, the industrial-added value of enterprises above designated size, industrial investments and technological improvement investments increased respectively by 13.1%, an increase 6.1 percentage points higher than the provincial average, 53.6%, an increase 29.4 percentage points higher than the provincial average, and 53.9%, an increase 40 percentage points higher than the provincial average, all ranking first in the province. And the three major indicators of the industrial economy remained higher than those of other places in the province for nearly half a year, which means that Jingzhou has gathered sufficient momentum for future development.
On the banks of the Jingjiang River, high-standard RMB-10 billion-level projects are racing for construction in full swing, advanced intelligence-based workshops are running efficiently, and traditional enterprises that have gone through green transformation are blooming, all these showing that Jingzhou's industry has begun to "leap forward" by riding the wave .
Large projects swarm in
The investment in RMB-10 billion-level projects registered a new record
In 2018, Jingzhou brought in the first RMB-10 billion-level industrial project of Shan Ying Paper. After that, more and more projects of that size settled down here. By this January, Jingzhou had brought in 21 projects valued at RMB 10 billion, among which the biggest is worth more than RMB 46 billion, raising the total investment to nearly RMB 300 billion. This amount alone outnumbers the total investments attracted to Jingzhou in any year before 2020.
And relevant statistics indicate that last year the capital for the projects signed every quarter exceeded RMB 100 billion and every quarter saw RMB-10 billion-level projects make Jingzhou their home.
Why has Jingzhou been favored by investors in RMB-10 billion-level projects during the last two years?
Zhou Qian, Deputy Director of Jingzhou Investment Promotion Center, attributed this to the following three measures: First, the "double optimization" measure has improved officials' working style and optimized the business environment. Second, an increase in energy consumption quotas creates the essential condition for projects to settle down here. Third, the features of rich water resources, a base for coal storage and distribution, advantages in railway and water combined transport, and a national-level demonstration zone set for industrial transfer are combined to work as a "shining signboard".
"In the past, Jingzhou, backward in industry, rarely saw RMB-5 billion-level or RMB 1 billion-level projects with external investment." Zhou Qian says. However, now Jingzhou with remarkable late-mover advantages has been rated as a popular city for investment in our country.
Jingzhou is home to a number of good projects
Top 500 companies at home and abroad come in a stream
When reviewing the 21 RMB-10 billion-level projects under contract with Jingzhou City, Jingzhou Investment Promotion Center found that, among them, 2 are on the list of the world's top 500 enterprises, 9 on the list of China's top 500 enterprises, 14 listed companies and 17 leading enterprises in its industry.
Guangdong Xiandao Rare Materials Co., Ltd. has invested RMB 20 billion in the construction of an electronic information industry park producing semiconductor related products. It is the world's largest high-tech enterprise in possession of the whole industrial chain of rare metals, the only one of its kind in the world. Its products are widely applied in semiconductor, 5G, optical communications and other industries.
Wintrue Holding, a listed company, has invested RMB 10.6 billion in the construction of seven battery-grade iron phosphate production lines with a total capacity of 350,000 tons in Songzi, Jingzhou. In November of last year, the first 50,000-ton production line, currently the first and biggest battery-grade iron phosphate production line in our country, was put into operation.
Stanley, one of China's top 500 companies, has also put RMB 11 billion into the construction of iron phosphate production lines in Songzi to produce products covering the whole industrial chain of the fine phosphorus chemical industry and enable the cascade use of phosphoric acid.
CRRC, one of the world's top 500 companies, has invested RMB 17.7 billion in the manufacture of wheel hubs, tower barrels, gear boxes and structural parts used for green wind power generation in Shishou, Jingzhou. Coincidentally, Xinjiang Goldwind Sci & Tech on the list of China's top 500 companies has put RMB 10 billion into the manufacture of wind power nacelle, generators, blades and other main parts used for wind power generation in Gong'an, Jingzhou.
Energy giant Guodian Changyuan is engaging in building a water-pumping energy storage power station in Jiangxiguan, Songzi, and China Huadian Group is implementing the construction of the solar photovoltaic power project in Jianli.
Investors come together like a team
Three are three new industrial clusters worth RMB 100 billion
Home appliance giant Midea built three major bases in Jingzhou with an investment of RMB 10 billion: air conditioner, refrigerator and washing machine bases. Among which, the refrigerator factory has become a global lighthouse factory, the washing machine factory has become a factory fully covered by the global 5G network and the building technology factory has become an internationally certified low carbon factory. Li Zhen, General Manager of Midea Hubei said, intelligent technology contributes to the 20% drop in the costs for making a single Midea device. Midea has attracted 30 enterprises from other places to settle down around it and over 70 enterprises to support its production.
"The smart home appliance sector is the most promising cluster in Jingzhou, with a high degree of upstream and downstream collaboration, where the most enterprises gather," said Zhu Lili, Deputy Director of Jingzhou Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. The home appliance industry in Jingzhou is expected to top RMB 100 billion in output value in 2030.
Nine Dragons, Shanying, Xianhe and Rongcheng, four listed papermaking giants, came like a team and settled down for the manufacture of packaging paper, printing and writing paper, household paper, special paper and the like, attracting 17 standard-sized or larger enterprises to fill the gaps in their manufacture, thus forming a relatively complete industrial chain covering raw materials, production, printing, packaging and sales. At present, over one third of the paper produced in the province come from here.
According to Luo Zhirong, General Manager of Shishou Xianhe Paper, the total capacity of the papermaking companies in Jingzhou can reach over 15 million tons, creating an output value of about RMB 100 billion and making Jingzhou the only prefecture-level city on par with major papermaking provinces such as Shandong and Guangdong. "Paper capital in central China" is about to appear.
Two major clusters of coal energy and coal-based chemical industries have formed in Jingzhou as a new energy and new material base. In terms of energy resources, Huadian Jiangling Power Plant has been put into production, and the project of Hubei Energy Coal Harbor Power Plant has been put under contract. As for the chemical industry, Hualu-Hengsheng with an investment of RMB 46 billion is expected to start operation in June, and Jinjiang Chemical with an investment of RMB 26 billion is already under construction.
Lu Daoyong, Deputy Director of Jingzhou Development and Reform Commission, said, this base will not only work as a demonstration project for the national railway water combined transport and a base for the provincial coal storage and distribution, but will also become a demonstration base for our country's coal chemical industry. Thus, the objectives of investments exceeding RMB 100 billion and output value exceeding RMB 100 billion will be realized.
Three companies have gone public one after another
Local enterprises are growing at a high speed
Last December, Jiulin Science and Technology was listed on Beijing Stock Exchange. This January, Jianghan New Materials was listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange. The IPO application of Aerospace Nanhu has been approved by the Listing Committee of the SSE STAR Market without difficulty. At present, Jingzhou has a total of 10 listed enterprises that have entered the capital market.
In 2022, Yijun Yaoneng Photovoltaic New Materials Industrial Park officially began running as the application demonstration project of the first set of major technical equipment in our country meeting the international leading standard for emissions. The 1.6mm-thick photovoltaic glass was successfully made, and the third transformation and upgrade achieved initial success.
In response to the policy of "closing down, reconstruction, removal and transformation", Neata Power Tech cooperated with Royal DSM Group in building a global base for vitamin E production. It also cooperated with Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Research in the R & D of new pharmaceutical chemicals for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diseases in cerebrovascular systems and other diseases. In addition, Neata Power Tech was restructured by merging with local companies Board and Zhongtai Chemical to scale up itself which rescuing its counterparts in danger.
This January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology incorporated Jingzhou's oil equipment industry into the 2022 medium- and small-sized special industry cluster. The oil equipment industry, rated as a provincial-level key industry cluster for 15 years in succession, has formed four major industries: oil and gas equipment manufacturing, petrochemical equipment manufacturing, oilfield chemistry and smart oilfield service, and oil and gas collecting and carrying pipe production base, with products both international and domestic advanced, creating an annual output value of over RMB 10 billion.
Over the last two years, Jingzhou's industry has developed dramatically. "Now we are doing what we should have done, and we will try our best to put “Made in Jingzhou” in the position it deserves in another three to five years," said Zhang Qingsong, Director of Jingzhou Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.