The Haitian Center, which is located in Shinan district, Qingdao, is the tallest building in the city. [Photo/CFP]

Shinan district in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, made major progress attracting investment and pushing major projects forward in the first half of 2021.

During the six-month period, the fixed asset investment in Shinan increased by 15.2 percent year-on-year, 3.5 points higher than Qingdao's average, while the number of newly registered projects with 100 million yuan ($15.47 million) in investment was 78, 22 more than last year. Registered capital in the district was valued at 33.08 billion yuan, up 68.84 percent year-on-year.

Shinan has been ramping up efforts to pave the way for major local projects so that they can finish construction and begin operating as soon as possible. In the first half of the year, a number of projects, including several museums and exhibition halls, were completed and put into use.

The Haitian Center, located in Shinan district, is the tallest building in Qingdao and officially started operating on June 20. To date, 15 Global 500 and multinational corporations have located their regional headquarters at the center.

Competent government services play a significant part in this success. For each major project, the district will set up a special team to help address companies' issues. According to Zhao Aiping, director of the district's bureau of development and reform, Shinan opened a service office in the Haitian center to help companies in the building with issues such as administrative examination and approval, going public, information about taxes and the latest policies, and financial support.

A series of preferential policies on tax rebates, subsidies for talent, and the supply of temporary residence make Shinan even more attractive, said an executive at Sinopec Jingwei Co, which was established in the district this April.

In the second half of 2021, a number of new projects are expected to be initiated in Shinan, according to the district's bureau of development and reform. A project invested by 3D Medicines, a leading company in precision medicine, is scheduled to begin construction in August. It will serve as the company's regional headquarters in East China, as well as a research and development center of anti-tumor drugs.