The Chongchuan Economic Development Zone proves to be an extremely appealing place for international investors and it's on a roll. It reported record in foreign investment in the first quarter. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The Chongchuan Economic Development Zone, or CCEDZ – located in the Chongchuan district of Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province – has become a magnet for international investors and as a result it attracted $104.6 million in foreign investment in the first quarter.

That was up 834 percent over the same period last year and hit a new high, according to the latest statistics.

Investment is widely regarded as being a fundamentally important growth driver to a regional economy and it's understood that the remarkable Q1 performance was the result of CCEDZ's all-out push to bring more funds in.

"In recent years, we have continued to devote ourselves to renewed efforts – focusing on electronic information, information technology applications and innovation, the internet of vehicles, intelligent equipment, healthcare and other key industries," said Zhang Ming, director of CCEDZ's investment promotion bureau.

Moreover, the Chongchuan Economic Development Zone has established dedicated working groups to carry out foreign investment marketing more precisely and efficiently.

This year, facing the severe COVID-19 pandemic situation, the CCEDZ conducted a cloud investment promotions campaign.

The investment promotion bureau, for example, got in touch with a listed company last year. Due to the pandemic, the face-to-face communications was interrupted this year, but through cloud negotiations an agreement was finally reached, with total investment hitting $40 million.

The zone reported that in Q1, five new or additional foreign investment projects were established.