A view of Yantai Area of the China (Shandong) Free Trade Zone. [Photo/WeChat Account:yantaifabu]

The newly-built Yantai foreign trade area has made significant progress in attracting talents and foreign projects and optimizing its business environment since it opened in August, local officials said.

Covering an area of 29.99 square kilometers, the Yantai Area of the China (Shandong) Free Trade Zone, launched on Aug 31, will focus on high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, a new generation of information technology, energy conservation, environmental protection, biomedicine, and producer services.

After the zone was launched, the city government rolled out 20 measures to optimize public services in the free trade area, streamline startup operations, and increase efficiency. A cross-border approval system including China, Japan, and South Korea has been established in the area.

In addition, 60 measures related to high-end intelligent manufacturing, the modern service industry, foreign trade, and technological innovation have also been implemented.

According to the new policies, a project fund of up to 30 million yuan ($4.3 million) will be provided to help build a comprehensive high-level talent service system.

These beneficial policies have attracted the headquarters of four trading companies, six financial institutions, and 11 science and innovation platforms to the area.

Twelve important projects with a total of 11 billion yuan in investment began construction on the day of the zone's launch ceremony. To date, a total of 498 new companies were established in the zone, among which 8 received over 100 million yuan in investment.

The area also introduced its first Fortune 500 project – a nylon intelligent production project, supported by CR Chem-Mat Co, a developer of nylon polymer materials, renewable materials, and bio-based materials.

More than 10 banks and insurance institutions have set up operations in the area, boosting the zone's financial industry.

Yantai plans to build the free trade area into a springboard for economic opening-up by optimizing the international business environment, promoting the marine economy, boosting the financial economy, and taking full advantage of new industrial clusters, officials said.