The Beijing municipal government will spare no efforts in the construction of China's North Micro-Electronic Industry Production Base, the largest in the country.

So far, the Shijingshan Badachu Science and Technology Park, the Shunyi Linhe Development Area and the Beijing Economic and Technology Development Zone have been selected as construction sites for the bases.

Vice-Mayor Liu Haiyan announced this at the 2000 Beijing International Seminar on Micro-Electronic Production held yesterday in Beijing.

The municipal government issued a series of preferential policies for investors from home and abroad at the seminar.

The municipal government will provide investors with land free of charge that has "roads, a power supply, heating, telecommunications, natural gas and water supplies, a sewage system and disposal facilities" for 30 years.

The municipal government will invest in integrated circuits enterprises at the rate of 15 per cent of their registered capital.

The municipal government will offer integrated circuits projects allowances of one to two percentage points of their loan's interest rate during the construction period.

Besides the preferential tax breaks granted by the State Council, "knowledge-intensive or technology-intensive overseas-funded enterprises" approved by the related municipal departments and enterprises involved in industrial and commercial activities or foreign enterprises investing more than US$30 million in China will enjoy "an exemption from income tax in the first two years of profit and a 50 per cent reduction for the next three years after that."

The North Micro-Electronic Industry Production Base is to be composed of two parts: the North Micro-Electronic Technology Development Base and the North Integrated Circuits Production Base.

Qu Weizhi, vice-minister of the information industry, pointed out that the brisk demand for integrated circuits in China, especially in large cities, which are currently engaged in speeding up the development of their high-tech industries, is a golden opportunity for the development of China's micro-electronic industry.

According to statistics from the ministry, last year's domestic market demand for integrated circuits totalled 16.6 billion pieces with a value of US$6.63 billion, an increase of 36.26 per cent from 1998.

Source from Beijing Customs said, during the first eight months this year, Beijing imported 290 million integrated circuits and micro-electronic components with a combined value of US$730 million, up 84 per cent and 96 per cent respectively from the same period of 1999.

Insiders predict that the value of imports of integrated circuits into Beijing for the whole year will reach US$1 billion.

"In spite of the vast market, Beijing also has many other unique advantages, such as its infrastructure and trained personnel," Qu said.

(China Daily Hongkong Edition)