Winsor looks to Guilin
HONGKONG-listed Winsor Industrial has expressed interest in investing in industrial and commercial projects in Guilin, the popular tourist city in Guangxi, Guilin officials say.
Mr Zhang Wenxue, party secretary of Guilin, said Winsor was interested in projects related to the operation of shopping malls and restructuring of state-owned enterprises.
He said the projects were only letters of intent and Guilin expected to finalise the deals with Winsor during a promotional trade fair in Hongkong next month.
He said the city was beefing up its tourism and infrastructure facilities to improve its investment environment and would offer a number of potential projects for foreign investors at the coming trade fair.
According to Mr Zhang, about 160 foreign-funded enterprises were approved in Guilin, involving more than US$500 million in foreign capital, last year.
There are currently a total of 260 foreign-funded enterprises.
The city received more than 600,000 foreign visitors and some eight million domestic tourists.
Mr Zhang said Guilin was building a new international airport at an estimated cost of one billion yuan (about HK$1.34 billion).
Construction work is under way, and it is expected to come into operation by October 1995.
He said the Guilin municipal government would invest 30 million yuan in a joint venture with the government of Guangxi and Southern Airlines.
The joint venture, involving a total investment of 75 million yuan, would lease three planes from Southern Airlines and, from April or May, operate as a subsidiary of the airline company.
Infrastructure developments include the construction of roads connecting Guilin with Wuzhou, Liuzhou and the proposed new airport.
Guilin is also building three economic and industrial development zones to attract foreign investment.
