Left: A fashion center in Siming district. The region will strive to create a better business environment to support companies' long-term growth. Right: Workers in Jomoo's factory. Photos Provided to China Daily

The sound business environment of Siming district, a core economic area of Xiamen in Fujian province, has become a major asset for attracting companies from home and abroad to the region.

Since 2010, Siming district has implemented a series of measures to promote the upgrading of its government services and to make its business sector more international. As a result, businesses in the district have been able to operate more efficiently, with less friction and red tape, according to local officials.

Fujian-based Jomoo Group, founded in 1990, is one such company. The kitchen and bathroom products manufacturer moved its operations and R&D center to Siming district in 2012.

"Xiamen is a city with a high-degree of opening-up and has achieved outstanding performance in internationalization," Lin Sinan, vice-chairman of Jomoo, said. "The city is home to many high-caliber professionals and has an ambiance of encouraging innovation."

Currently, Jomoo's R&D center is focusing on developing smart products.

More than 5 percent of the company's annual sales revenue is reinvested in R&D, according to Lin.

At present, the company has more than 3,000 patents and 42 international design awards.

Strong government support is essential for companies to commercialize new technologies, and Siming district has rolled out many preferential policies aimed at helping company's in the area achieve this, according to Lin.

As a result, Jomoo has prospered, expanding its operations to more than 20 countries and regions including Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Lin said Jomoo will continue to expand its R&D and operations in Xiamen, for it to become a hub for global technologies.

Anta Sports is another company in Siming to benefit from the sound business environment.

A leading Chinese sportswear brand, Anta set up operations in the district in 2008.

"It is not easy to develop a real economy business - it requires companies to show their strength and persistence," said Ding Shizhong, chairman of Anta Sports.

For a company to show strength and persistence, it needs innovative and talented professionals, and as one of the largest sports products manufacturers in the world, with reported 24.1 billion yuan ($3.59 billion) sales revenue last year, Anta has seen the benefits of operating in Siming.

In 2018, the district released new policies to encourage innovation and bring in high-caliber talents. It promised to grant outstanding experts with subsidies of as much as 2 million yuan, based on their achievements.

The region's continuous efforts in upgrading and developing preferential policies for commerce have meant that Siming district has become an ideal location for businesses to operate in and relocate to.

(China Daily 03/28/2019 page19)