The Nanning area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone is experiencing rapid development. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_df8bc987e060]

The Nanning area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has now developed into a new growth engine for leading Nanning's reform and opening-up, local media outlets reported on Nov 15.

The Nanning area, which is one of the three areas of the China (Guangxi) Pilot FTZ, was set up in August 2019. Being located close to ASEAN countries, the Nanning area promotes reforms in key areas to promote international cooperation.

It has taken the lead countrywide in releasing 12 institutional innovations and has attracted over 25,000 companies including industrial giants such as Huawei, Tencent and iFlytek. It has ranked fourth in system innovation among 19 areas of China's pilot FTZ.

In 2020, Nanning has 392 enterprises with an output value of over 100 million yuan ($15.68 million), six industrial parks over 10 billion yuan, and the added value of the service industry stood at 310.77 billion yuan. The output value of three major industries, namely electronic information, advanced equipment manufacturing, and biomedicine, accounted for 38.8 percent of Nanning's total.

In the first three quarters of 2021, Nanning's financial industry grew steadily, and the added value of the financial industry increased by 4.9 percent year on year. 

As of the end of September, there were 264 financial companies that have settled down in China-ASEAN Financial City, which is 12.57 times the figure in 2018. Among them, 102 new financial companies settled down in the city this year.