Ease of doing business in Sanya received some validation when Deloitte China’s newly released rankings showed the city earned a spot in the global rankings, at 49th place this year for ease of doing business in the city.

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The report monitored reforms in Sanya that were aimed at improving the business environment in the city for enterprises. Specifically, the reforms were aimed at ten processes related to business, namely, starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

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According to the report, progress made by Sanya in making “starting a business” and “getting electricity” easier was particularly impressive. The report revealed that Sanya cut the number of procedures necessary to start a business; it now takes only three working days to start a company in the city. The Sanya government also enacted a total of 15 reforms with respect to “getting electricity,” including reducing to 10 days the time it takes to obtain a connection to the electricity grid. That reduction was made possible by expanding network capacity, cutting costs, and simplifying administration.

The city’s strong performance is a result of a concerted effort by officials in the local government to create a more attractive environment in the city for establishing businesses.

The total value of Sanya’s imports and exports from January to April this year reached RMB 2.71 billion, an increase of 50.2 percent over the same period last year.

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Since Hainan launched its “100 Days of Massive Investment Invitation” campaign in May 2018, the Sanya government has released a new set of preferential policies aimed at helping the city attract global conglomerates and boosting the development of the city’s “headquarters economy.” As of now, a total of 62 companies have chosen Sanya as their regional headquarters, including 11 Fortune Global 500 companies.