Ningbo-made stationery exported to over 150 countries

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Category: Ningbo Business

Published: Tuesday, 04 October 2011 12:31

After a two-day examination, on September 27, a group of 7 experts from China National Light Industry Council, China Stationery and Sporting Goods Federation and China Pen-making Federation unanimously agreed that Ningbo should go on to keep the laurel "Capital of Stationery of China".

In 2005, Ningbo was elected "Capital of Stationery of China", the honor Ningbo won as a national-level featured economic area. According to related rules, this title is not permanent and it should be re-examined every three years. In 2008, Ningbo was a success in passing the re-examination. "This honor plays a very important role in promoting the stationery industry for a healthy, rapid and sustainable development," said a related authority of the stationary federation of Ningbo.

The stationery industry of Ningbo started from little family or collective workshops. With the development in the past 10 years, it has become a leading force in the country. At present, Ningbo has over 860 stationery producers, including 185 large enterprises. Over 300 companies are engaged in import and export of stationery. Most of the stationery enterprises are in Ninghai, Beilun, Yinzhou, Cixi and Yuyao. In the last year, the total industrial output value of the industry reaches 41 billion yuan, and the sales value 41.1 billion yuan, increased by 12.9%% and 14.1%% respectively against the same period of the previous year.

In the meanwhile, The brand strategy practiced in the industry has turned out good results. With the years' of efforts, 6 products of Beifa, Guangbo, Chenglu, Yongfa and Aipu are entitled Chinese Brand Names. 9 stationery companies get Famous Trademarks of China. 16 companies get Famous Brand Names of Zhejiang. 10 companies get Famous Trademarks of Zhejiang. 18 companies get Famous Brand Names of Ningbo.

According to the 12th Five-year Plan of Ningbo, by 2015, the sales output of the stationery industry of Ningbo should reach 100 billion yuan, and Ningbo-made stationery products should have 10% of the market in the world.

Shanjing Outlets Plaza opened in Ningbo

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Category: Ningbo Business

Published: Tuesday, 04 October 2011 12:24

A shopping center recently opened in the western suburbs of Ningbo. The other day, Shanjing Outlets Plaza, a shopping center of discount international brand stores, opened in Jishigang Town of Yinzhou, Ningbo City. This is the first large shopping center in the western suburbs of Ningbo and it is also a new type of retail business in Ningbo. Ningbo government officials Liu Qi, Shou Yongnian, Chen Yijun and visitors home and abroad were present at the opening ceremony.

Shanjing Outlets Plaza is jointly invested by Firs Group and Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.—one of the Top 500 of the World. It is the only such plaza in China. The plaza covers an area of 116,000 sq meters, with a floorage of over 44,000 square meters. The plaza has over 130 shops of famous brand commodities of clothes, shoes and hats, and many of them are top international brands. The plaza is equipped with catering and recreational facilities.

Reportedly, the investment in Shanjing Outlets Plaza indicates that Firs Group has taken its first step to expand its business of fashion to the urban development. In the 10 years to come, Firs Group plans to open at least 15 outlets plazas in China.

Sanmenwan Area of Ninghai: a hot place for energy investors

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Category: Ningbo Business

Published: Tuesday, 04 October 2011 12:29

The other day, 7 banks including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank signed agreements with 19 enterprises of Ninghai for loans totaling 4.55 billion yuan. The loans are 19 projects like the 300MWphotovoltaic production line of Dongfang Risheng New Energy Co., Ltd, the production base of Ningbo Deli Group, the renovation of old towns, and the construction of industrial parks. Many of the projects are in the new area of Sanmenwan Area. Of the projects, the project of the Sanmenwan Industrial Park signed between the Administrative Committee of Ninghai Economic and Technical Development Zone and China Construction Bank involves a loan of 1 billion yuan, the highest of all the 19 projects.

Volume of import and export increases by 10 times

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Category: Ningbo Business

Published: Monday, 26 September 2011 11:14

2011 sees the 10th anniversary of China's entry into the WTO. The statistics released by Ningbo Foreign Trade Bureau on September 21 show that the total value of import and export of Ningbo has increased by 10 times in the last decade.

Statistics show that in 2001 the total value of import and export stood at 8.9 billion US dollars, with exports of 6.3 billion US dollars and imports of 2.6 billion US dollars. While in 2010, the total value of import and export amounted to 82.9 billion US dollars, with the exports taking up 52.0 billion US dollars and imports 30.9 billion US dollars. For the first eight months of this year, the total value of import and export added up to 65.0 billion dollars, and the total value of the whole year is expected to be over 90 billion US dollars. The scale of import and export is now ten times that of 2001, and the growth rate is twice that of the national average. In the latest "Top 100 Foreign Trade Cities in China, 2010 – 2011" list, Ningbo ranks No. 7 among all the cities listed.

"Before China joined the WTO, our company's exports of tea towels and kitchen textiles to the United States and Germany were greatly restricted by the quotas. After China's entry into the WTO, the quota system was abolished and we can export our textile products on a larger scale. Thus our market share of textiles and garments became larger, which enabled us to get an upper hand when competing with other exporters from India and Pakistani, and our sales multiplied overnight", said He Zhixian, General Manager of Ningbo Qingfeng (Fresh) Yarn-Dyed Fabric Co. Ltd, when talking about the changes before and after China's entry into the WTO.

As a matter of fact, textile industry is not the only industry that benefits from China's entry into the WTO. It is said that during these ten years, Ningbo's opening-up economy took on a new look and underwent an unprecedentedly fast development. With more and more private companies turning to deal in foreign trade, Ningbo's foreign trade began to flourish. In the last decade, the volume of import and export, the volume of export, and the volume of import increased annually by 31.1%, 26% and 55.7% respectively. In 2010, for the first time, Ningbo's total value of import and export ranked among the top ten among the 36 provincial capitals and sub-provincial cities, with exports ranked No. 9 and imports No. 11 respectively.

With the expansion of foreign trade scale and the increasing experience in the international market, Ningbo is increasing the core competitiveness of its foreign trade enterprises and Ningbo-made products enjoy an ever-increasingly good reputation. By shifting from "made in Ningbo" to "created in Ningbo" and even to "intellectually created in Ningbo", foreign trade enterprises in Ningbo are no longer satisfied with the simple imitation and copying, and have greatly improved the added value of exports. As for the mode of foreign trade, the "mono-trade" mode focusing on exports is gradually replaced by the "multi-trade" mode, and exports and imports are developing harmoniously. At present, as the international economy becomes unstable and the cost of exports goes up due to the increasing exchange rate of RMB, the foreign trade enterprises in Ningbo begin to lay great emphasis on their transformation and upgrading. Improving the enterprises' capability of innovation and promoting new products are the two main strategies to deal with the hard time.