Nantong - Economy

Economy

Nantong was traditionally an agricultural land and an old site for salt-making in history. Its principal agricultural products include cotton, rice, wheat, fishing, fruit, and more. Currently, the city is making more efforts to upgrade its farming sectors and increase production of organic foods.

Nantong is one of the 14 port cities opened to foreign investment projects under China's current policies of modernization. Nantong was a traditional industrial city of China back in early time of its history from salt to cotton textile productions. From Mr Zhang Jian’s first cotton mill to today’s industrial corporations, Nantong has been a new industrial hub in the north of Jiangsu since it opened its door to the outside world two decades earlier. With its excellent geographic location and the completion of two Yangtze River bridges, the prefecture jurisdiction is attracting more investment funding nationwide. Many of these investments come also from many international corporations. In October 2007, Singapore RGM International signed an agreement with Rudong, a county under Nantong's jurisdiction, to invest a port project, costing 9 billion Yuan or 1.33 billion USD at Rudong Yangkou Port.

Today, Nantong is one of the fast-growing coastal cities in China. With the openings of Sutong Bridge in April 2008 and Chonghai Bridge in 2009, the city has been listed as the number one city in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone for foreign investment, surpassing even its all rivals including Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing. Economic growth and environmental conservation have always seemed like two different approaches. As a sprawling metropolis, Nantong has experienced environment damage from its industrialization. The municipal government has been putting more stiff environmental policies into practice over years and has spent tremendous funds to curb the pollution and to plane more trees along its roads. The city is shutting down more factories that do not meet the environment laws.

Nantong has developed rapidly in the last 25 years, as have most of the cities in the Yangtze River Delta. Usually, Nantong's rapid economic growth is attributed to its advantageous location just north of Shanghai. Nantong's Sutong Bridge is expected to further Nantong's integration with Shanghai, cutting transportation time between the cities down to one hour from three hours.

The shipping corporation Cosco has a large port and ship repair yards on the river. Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard Co., Ltd, the first shipyard of the Cosco group, is adjacent to the busy port of Nantong. The yard has 1120 m of coastline and is equipped with one Cape-size and one Panamax size floating dock. Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard handles approximately 150 vessels per year and has kept first position among Chinese shipyards in turnover and customer feedback.

Nantong has five KFC stores and one McDonald's.

Some companies in Nantong:

• Empire Clothing Co. Ltd. - Manufacturer of garments for men, women and children. Products gallery.
• Nantong No.2 Yarn-dyed Weaving Mill - Cloth and garment manufacturer.
• Nantong Taierte Clothing Co. Ltd. - Textile production and processing.
• Nantong Freezing Equipment Factory - Refrigeration and quick freezing equipment for the food industry.
• Nantong Printing and Dyeing Co. Ltd. - Textile processor. Product specifications.
• Nantong Suzhong Textile Co. Ltd. - Yarn and thread manufacturer. Product specifications.
• Nantong General Pharmaceutical Factory - Manufacturer of pharmaceutical materials such as tablets, capsules and injections. Product specifications.
• Nantong Xiaoxing Transformer Co., Ltd. -Various range of electric transformers
• Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics Co Ltd