A 2.55 million- inhabited Kushan locality in China has blended openness and fairness of service to top all country records in terms of investment-friendly environment.

Attracting substantial and sustainable investments especially direct foreign investments is every country’s wish, especially less developed and developing economies. Different countries adapt different policies to hit the highest mark which if attained almost always shoots a country’s socio-economic development to the skies. In Cameroon, government has been working tooth and nail to attract as much direct foreign investments as possible. The regular holding of Cameroon’s Business Forum to continually improve the business climate and the presence of structures like Investment Promotion Agency et al are to achieve this.

Knowing what others do, especially those that are succeeding aren’t bad. It could rather be inspiring as it would help to avoid pitfalls and open the gates for even better performance. China is renowned for investments in foreign countries. That one of its small localities has stood tall over the years in terms of attracting investors imposes a deep breath and an in-depth reflection.  Kunshan, a 2.55 million inhabited locality of 931 sq. km under the culturally and industrially-rich Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, a close neighbour of the metropolitan city of Shanghai to its east has developed an easily stimulating model in attracting foreign investors. In 2015, the city’s GDP reached 308 billion yuan; general local budget revenue amounted 28.48 billion yuan; industrial output value hit 900.03 billion yuan, the added value of service sector totalled 135.5 billion yuan; the investment in fixed assets reached 81.06 billion yuan and import and export volume reached 83.45billion USD, of which the export volume was 53.8 billion USD. The per capita disposable income of residents totalled 42,755 yuan. With these, Kunshan has topped all the county-level cities in China in terms of comprehensive strength and investment potentials. It has also been topping the list of Forbes China Best County-level Cities for its business environment for seven years now.

Inspiring Investment-attractive Model

According to Jin Ming Vice Mayor of the Kushan Municipal People’s Government, openness, fairness of service and infrastructure development are primordial in attracting investors especially direct foreign investments. She told Cameroon Tribune in the heavily-invested and developed locality recently that although the municipality, like the rest of China, has put in place investment-friendly legislation with a lot of incentives for potential investors – just like Cameroon, what makes a difference is how the investors are treated and the basic infrastructure in place. Land is not a problem as there are well developed industrial zones; likewise transport infrastructure as there are five expressways and two High-speed Railways (the Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Nanjing High-speed Railway). Access to Kunshan is also boosted by its proximity to the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, which is approximate 40 minutes drive from Kunshan.  Above all, investment negotiations are made on win-win and clear basis cognizant of the fact that investors are not philanthropists. The presence of Kunshan Economic & Technical Development Zone, Kunshan New & Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Huaqiao Economic Development Zone, Kunshan Tourism Resort and eight townships are valuable assets in the locality’s investment attractiveness.

Little wonder, “Kunshan has pooled more than 7,600 foreign projects invested by 56 countries and regions. Of the Global top 500 enterprises, 48 have invested in Kunshan. Accumulated expanded foreign capital amounted to 25.5 billion USD,” Mrs Jin Ming told me.

There is therefore no way direct investments can be attracted when those desiring the investors speak differently, with private gains seemingly having an urge over that of the public or investors, when investment files are sometimes sluggishly and wilfully delayed talk less of poor infrastructure. Authorities may consider looking in the direction of Kushan.