Guangxi finally gets its opportunity to play catch-up
Surging prices for labour and resources are giving economic late-comer Guangxi a chance to catch up.
Although the autonomous region boasts 1,500km of coastline, its per capita gross domestic product ranked 26th among the 31 regions on the mainland last year, behind many inland provinces.
Border conflicts with Vietnam in the 1970s and poor road networks have often been blamed for its lack of development. About 80 per cent of the region is mountainous, making roads costly and difficult to build.
But many industries in the Pearl River Delta are now moving to Guangxi, citing labour costs and its abundance of resources.
'We are the last coastal region on the mainland that has not been developed,' said Guangxi party secretary Cao Bochun . 'Now our chance has finally arrived.'
Indeed, Guangxi's economy has soared in the past two years, with annual growth at about 13 per cent - higher than the national average.
'We have no land or labour shortages. They have abundant resources and are close to Guangdong,' said Hong Kong businessman Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, managing director of toy manufacturer Forward Winsome Industries.
Mr Lam said he was considering moving his factories from Dongguan to Guangxi for the rich lumber resources. The region's proximity to Guangdong and Hong Kong also made it preferable over other provinces.
'Heilongjiang also has many forests. But it would be much easier for us to transfer personnel ... from our Guangdong factories [to Guangxi]. Culturally, it is also closer,' he said.
Leo Tameeris, regional director of Singapore-listed Noble Grain, which opened a soya bean processing plant in Guangxi, said competition in the region was relatively low, an advantage for winning local market share.
But some investors remain put off by Guangxi's poor transport and underdeveloped services industry.
Mr Cao said the government was aware of the problem and investing heavily to upgrade infrastructure.
