The eastern coastal city of Yantai achieved gratifying results in foreign economic cooperation and trade in 2016, according to a news conference convened by the Information Office of the Yantai Municipal Government on Feb 22.

The Information Office of the Yantai Municipal Government convenes a news conference on Feb 22 about the city's achievement in foreign economic cooperation and trade in 2016. [Photo/sdchina.com]

Yantai's gross foreign trade ranks among the highest in Shandong

Yantai's foreign economic cooperation and trade showed a steady but slight increase in 2016. The city attracted 232 new foreign-invested projects throughout the year, with investment contracts totaling 22.32 billion yuan ($3.25 billion), a year-on-year growth of 13.5 percent. The paid-in contract value was $2.06 billion, ranking second in Shandong province and representing a growth of 7.6 percent year-on-year.

The eastern coastal city of Yantai in Shandong province. [Photo/Jiaodong.net]

Under the current global economic downturn and doldrums in some key industries, Yantai's total imports and exports dropped by 5.4 percent from a year earlier to 290.4 billion yuan. The total accounted for nearly one fifth of the whole of Shandong province, keeping Yantai in second place in the province.

Actual overseas investment by Yantai firms reached $1.4 billion in 2016, ranking third in Shandong province with a year-on-year increase of 86 percent.

Yantai scored fruitful achievements in attracting and utilizing foreign investment last year, including 12 newly approved projects invested by Fortune 500 companies. Among them are nine with total investment exceeding $100 million.

By the end of 2016, 99 Fortune 500 companies had invested in Yantai with 144 projects involving the high-tech, IT, communication, automobile, petroleum, shipbuilding, aviation and biology domains.

Yantai continued to improve its trade structure in 2016. Trading of new and high technology products as well as electro-mechanical ones expanded significantly, accounting for 63.5 and 33.5 percent of the city's total import and export volume respectively.

Last year 42 Yantai firms made initial overseas investments, bringing the total number of companies involved in outbound investment to 316.

The number of newly approved cross-border mergers and acquisitions by Yantai firms reached 12, with investment contracts totaling 5.91 billion yuan ($860 million), a year-on-year growth of 359.4%.

Fifteen foreign projects invested by Yantai firms experienced a capital increase in 2016, with replenishment amounting to $310 million.