Investment opportunities abound

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region was the first such region to be founded in China, back in 1947.

As at the end of 2015, the region’s permanent population stood at 25.2 million, about 17 percent of which are of the Mongolian ethnic group. Gross domestic product exceeded 1.8 trillion yuan ($264 billion) last year, up 7.2 percent year-on-year. Residents’ income grew by 8 percent year-on-year in 2016.

The region has the largest area of grassland and forest in China, accounting for 335,900 and 96,500 square miles, respectively.

Its reserves of 17 mineral resources, including coal, rare earths, lead and silver, are the largest in China.

In 2016, the region’s wind power generation hit 1.38 billion kilowatts, contributing more than 50 percent of the nation’s total wind-generated power output.

Inner Mongolia’s average temperature sits between 0 and 8C throughout the year, suitable for developing the biopharmaceutical and cloud computing industries. These sectors have high energy demands, given the need to cool storage and server facilities. The low temperature outside therefore helps to reduce these costs.

Still, western Inner Mongolia has one of the lowest electricity prices throughout the country. In Hohhot, capital of the region, general industrial and commercial enterprises only pay 0.63 yuan per kilowatt.

To encourage development, the local government has released preferential policies concerning tax, land usage, industrial development and fi nance. It offers a 15 percent tax discount to companies in supported and promoted industries.

For major public infrastructure projects, environmental protection projects and energy and water conservation projects, the government does not impose tax for the first three years of operation.

Commercial banks foreign banks and insurance companies are encouraged to provide innovative services to help transform the economic structure of Inner Mongolia.