Liaocheng is encouraging companies in the Shandong province city to actively pursue overseas business development opportunities, Mayor Lin Fenghai said.

Currently, the city is home to more than 40 major foreign-funded enterprises involving a total investment of $280 million. A large number of companies in the city also are competitively position to invest in projects abroad.

Liaocheng Xinfa Group, for example, developed bauxite projects in Indonesia, Australia and other countries, with an annual production volume of 690 million tons. Guanfeng Seed Company established a 50,000-hectare palm garden in Brazil, which is projected to generate 280,000 tons of palm oil annually. This project represents the province’s largest agricultural investment overseas.

In the future, the government will help its local companies establish five processing and production bases in markets for bauxite, copper concentrate, palm trees and natural rubber, donkey breeding and processing, as well as wood and wood pulp, in countries with rich resources such as South America, Africa and Australia, Lin said.

By Wang Qian (China Daily Shandong Bureau)