The Haimen base of China Merchants Industry Holdings received $50 million in foreign investment in the first half of 2020, with its total foreign investment reaching $407.8 million, the most among advanced manufacturing companies in the county-level city of Nantong, Jiangsu province.

According to local authorities, the money will be used in the construction of wharves and shipyards at the base, which mainly focuses on the production of luxury cruise ships and high-end marine engineering equipment.

"The quality of foreign-funded projects in Haimen is being significantly improved as money flows toward the advanced manufacturing industry," said Huang Jianhui, director of the city’s commerce bureau.

In recent years, Haimen has seized opportunities brought about by the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region and improved its business environment by introducing preferential policies for foreign-funded companies.

The city has received annual foreign capital of more than $300 million yuan several years in a row. 

The foreign investment has helped optimize the structure of the city's manufacturing industry and inject momentum into its industrial growth, said local officials.

The latest survey carried out by the city's commerce bureau showed that there are 66 foreign-funded companies among 240 manufacturing companies in Haimen, accounting for 27.5 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, the taxable sales revenue and paid taxes of these foreign-funded companies accounted for 30.58 percent and 33.25 percent of the total among the 240 companies.