High industrial concentration brings additional investment to Tongzhou district, Nantong. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

In recent years, Tongzhou district has laid emphasis on promoting construction of major projects, which supported enterprises' upgrading. During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), the district has cultivated 440 local companies of designated size – generating revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($3.1 million) per annum – and constructed 56 projects worth one billion yuan and above each. Many of these projects are from additional investment by existing enterprises.

Guangdong Hongtu Nantong Die-casting Co Ltd, based in the Nantong National High-tech Industrial Development Zone in Tongzhou district, specializes in production of automotive precision aluminum alloy die castings, and has established cooperation with dozens of auto and parts manufacturers such as Jaguar and Land Rover.

Settled in Tongzhou for nearly a decade, Hongtu Die-casting made two additional investments. The second phase project started in 2015 and the third one followed in 2018.

In the view of Wang Yuemin, head of Hongtu's administrative department, the local die-casting industry cluster brings the district additional investment. "Nearly 20 upstream and downstream enterprises surround us," Wang said. "Developing as a team in the industrial chain is a dominant advantage for us and strengthens our confidence in continuing to invest here."

Though affected by the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of this year, the main business revenue of Hongtu in the first three quarters reached 820 million yuan, consistent with last year. Annual revenue for 2020 is expected to reach 1.1 billion yuan.