Gulou—central district in Nanjing, promoting “headquarters economy”
Gulou, ranking fifth among the nation’s 35 major cities in the capacity to develop a headquarters economy, is attracting international company head offices which is the mode used increasingly across the country. In a bid to attract yet more companies, Gulou district has adjusted its economic and industrial structure.
Covering about one-tenth of Nanjing, Gulou accounts for nearly one-third of the city revenues, ranking first among the six urban districts. According to Bao Yongan, district Party secretary, one of the most important reason for its high revenues is they have focused on developing the headquarter economy, which also boosts development of the modern services industry in the city—an important strategy to optimize their industrial structure. They seized the opportunity in recent years when big domestic and international companies moved their headquarters into secondary country. “Through our efforts, a large number of companies set up their regional headquarters, research and development (R&D) centres and sales operations in Gulou district,” Bao said, “the arrival of these headquarters has generated demand for modern services—a win-win situation.”
Bao said one of the most important advantages for Gulou is its vast group of talents. There are 20 universities, more than 70 different research institutes and over 100,000 professional technicians in this district; more than one-third of the residents have a college-level education. These are the advantages Gulou can use to attract company headquarters. Furthermore, Hulou is placing its priority on the development of hi-tech, modern services and cultural industries.
Four industrial categories are taking shape in Gulou—headquarters finance, business and commerce, R&D and culture-related enterprises. To accommodate the trend of these developments, Gulou has teamed with Lishui County in Nanjing’s suburbs to establish an industrial base, which will help to absorb some production operations of companies not suitable for the city center, said Bao.
While attracting international company headquarters, Gulou did not forget the local enterprises. “We offer support and encouragement in policies, land use and service to local companies,” said Xu Suning, head of Gulou district. Such provincial pillar companies as home appliances asles giant Suning, major salt producer Jiangsu Salt and the Jiangsu provincial publishing house have created a “brand effect” for local companies.
Nowadays, more than 40 multinationals including Siemens, Lucent, Emerson and Panasonic have headquarters in Gulou. In financial services, AIA, Standard Chartered Group and Standard Life, including KPMG China have a presence in Gulou. To facilitate the arrival of these headquarters, Gulou offers “one-stop” services. Last year, the revenues of headquarter operations reached up to 1.92 billion yuan, which is almost three times as much as the number in 2004.
With the rapid growth of company headquarters, Gulou’s industrial mix is also changing gradually, Xu said.
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