Recently, A&T International Architectural Design and Consulting Co., Ltd. (called A&T for short), a Sino-France joint venture, located its office in the Binhai Financial Street of TEDA.

In collaboration with several other world-renowned design companies, the France-based Denis Laming Architecte, as the major party, set up A&T jointly with Tianyou Architectural Design Co., Ltd. A&T stands as an international firm specializing in planning, architecture, landscape and project design and consultancy. With its head office in TNCD, it has representative offices respectively in Beijing, China and Paris, France. It is learned that Denis Laming Architecte was founded in 1978 and boasts over 200 projects of architectural design or planning in France. As for its activities in China, it participated in the design of the Shanghai Science & Technology City, Capital Museum, National Museum of China and some other projects.

Tianjin Port Financial Limited Company, the first financial company set up after TNCD became the pilot zone for financial reform, recently started to operate in TEDA. It is the first non-banking financial institution that has opened in TEDA since the central government of China granted TNCD financial incentives for further opening up and reform. It is also China's first financial enterprise serving a port group.

To help Tianjin Port Financial Limited Company expand, in line with the policies of granting lump sum subsidies to the new banks, insurance institutions and non-banking institutions as stipulated in the Interim Provisions of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area on Promoting the Development of the Modern Service Sector, the Financial Bureau of TEDA said, the subsidy for the initial operation will be granted to Tianjin Port Financial Limited Company in time, to fulfill TEDA's promise of incentives as early as possible and thus further promote the cluster and growth of financial institutions.

Recently, Continental Automotive Systems (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. held its opening ceremony in TEDA.

A leading supplier of braking system, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers in the world, CAS registered a sales of 14.9 billion euros in 2006 and employs 85,000 people globally. Its Automotive Systems Division has always been a major technology partner to the auto industry, offering comprehensive know-how in fields like driving safety, embedded telematics and hands-free communication systems, powertrain and comfort. In 2006, the Division achieved sales of approximately six billion euros with a global workforce of 24,000. CAS develops and produces electronic and hydraulic brakes, stability and chassis control systems, electronic air suspension systems, sensors, engine management and transmission control systems, hybrid drives, cooling fan modules, body and security electronics and also is the supplier of embedded telematics and hands-free communication systems in vehicles. The successful acquisition of Motorola¡¯s automotive electronics business in July, 2006 significantly increased the product portfolio and R&D capabilities of CAS in body and sensor electronics as well as powertrain and chassis controls.

Recently, Tianjin PharmaTech held its opening ceremony in TEDA.

A high-tech company whose business ranges from new drug R&D to technology incubation, Tianjin PharmaTech has a state-of-the-art new drug R&D base in TEDA. It not only offers unparallel and efficient R&D-related services and products to major pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies worldwide but also works closely with these giants on novel drugs in a synchronized manner.

Today Tianjin PharmaTech has 180 employees, including a research team of 130, 70% of whom hold master's or doctor's degrees. The management team is made up of not only managerial professionals with global vision but also technology insiders with an accumulative overseas new drug R&D experience of 70 years. The company has developed six overseas clinical new drugs, published 400 academic essays and now possesses over 150 overseas patents.

The company's R&D base covers a construction area of 12,000 square meters and is equipped with international-standard infrastructures and large number of imported precision equipments. It has already acquired 100 mu (or 66,667 square meters) of land from TEDA for future expansion.

WuXi PharmaTech, the majority shareholder and a vigorous backup of the Tianjin arm, is by far the biggest and bset integrated new drug R&D service provider in Asia. It ranks number one in terms of production scale and R&D capacity of medical-used lead compounds globally and has been acclaimed as "the world's A-class research institution"by Pfizer and Merck. Its Shanghai headquarters employs several thousand employees (80% of whom are research staff, with doctors and masters accounting for two thirds) and possesses a 61,200-square-meter research base and a 100-mu (or 66,667-square-meter) commercialization base. Currently, among WuXi PharmaTech's 100-odd clients there are 19 of the top 20 pharmaceutical, and eight of the top 10 biopharmaceutical companies in the world.

Recently Tianjin Samsung Opto-Electronics Co., Ltd. held an opening ceremony for its new facility in the Microelectronics Industrial Park of TEDA.

It is learned that with an area of 14,300 m2 the new facility in the Microelectronics Industrial Park of TEDA completed its construction in Oct. of 2006. Its main products involve digital cameras and the related components. With all its production lines put to use, the facility will boast an annual production capacity of 12 million digital cameras. And the total number of its employees is expected to reach 2,900 in Oct. of 2007.
    

Tianjin Genoteins Biotech Ltd., the very first applicant and beneficiary of the region's new double-high policy, will soon receive a start-up grant from TEDA government.

Founded by US-returned scholars, this bio-tech company is mainly engaged in the R&D of recombinant human insulin( the third generation insulin products) and interlenkin-10 and will expand its business to HIV, HPV, Comvax Hap-A and B vaccines as well as p53/p21 gene engineering drugs.

According to the newly revised double-high policy of TEDA, the money will be paid from a newly founded entrepreneur-returnee grant. To be more specific, certain amount of financial support is supposed to be earmarked from the TEDA Science & Technology Development Fund as a special grant for the hi-tech related entrepreneurial initiatives by returnee scholars in TEDA. Eligible entrepreneur-returnees may get a maximum grant of 200,000 yuan to start up a new hi-tech enterprise here

With their profit margin and main business revenue average over 200 million yuan and around three billion yuan respectively, the 2006 top 100 enterprises in TEDA were recently unveiled to public.

Statistics show that last year the total asset of top 100 enterprises in TEDA was 156.473 billion yuan with their main business revenue hitting 291.4 billion yuan, up by 24.5% than their 2005 predecessors. Altogether, they created a profit of 20.15 billion yuan, a tax revenue of 10.96 billion yuan, and a value-added of 60.39 billion yuan.

Among these 2006 top guns, 79 are from industrial sectors, 20 from service sectors, and one from construction sectors. Among the 24 new stars on the list, 17 are from industrial sectors, six from service sectors and one from construction sectors.

Coming out with the region's top 100 profit-earners are the top 10 fastest growers. In the past year, their business revenue reached 28.449 billion yuan, up by 16.105 billion yuan or 1.3 times year on year; profit margin, 1.134 billion yuan, up by 851 million yuan or three times year on year; tax contribution, 381 million yuan, up by 62 million yuan or 19.5% year on year; and their value added was 2.236 billion yuan, up by 579 million yuan or 42.7% year on year.

Recently, China's first global-oriented outsourcing portal (www.chnsourcing.com ) was officially launched by Chinasourcing Co.,Ltd..

As a global-oriented showcase of the Chinese outsourcing industry, the portal is supposed to serve as a bridge between the domestic and international outsourcing markets. Through vertical industry search engine and B2B e-transaction platform, it will offer outsourcing-related services such as project match-making, information release and personnel training to Chinese outsourcing suppliers and help them sharpen business skills and march on abroad.

Registered in TEDA, Chinasourcing Co., Ltd. is China's first hi-tech company which specifically serves the outsourcing industry. The company and its portal will definitely play a positive role in the development for the service outsourcing of TEDA.

Tianjin has already been approved by the State Ministry of Commerce as one of the eleven domestic outsourcing base cities. Recently, Tianjin and TEDA have successively released a series of industry policies including Opinions on Promoting the Development of Service Outsourcing in Tianjin, Interim Regulations on Promoting the Development of Service Outsourcing in TEDA, etc. According to local planner, service outsourcing will be listed as one of TEDA's key industries and is expected to register a sales value of five to six billion yuan, with the labor force in service outsourcing and related trades hitting 50,000 to 60,000.

The inauguration ceremony and the first session of the Committee for the Development of the Service Outsourcing Industry were recently held in the Investment Service Center of TEDA.

It is learned that through setting up a platform for the cooperation and interaction between the government and enterprises in TEDA, the committee aimed at facilitating a mechanism for enterprises to express ideas on their rights and interests and  problems, improve the government services for and the industrial environment, and explore more business opportunities. The committee will act as the bridge between the government and enterprises, give play to the leading role of the competent departments of the Administrative Commission of TEDA and public utilities in TEDA in serving enterprises, tracking and solving problems, coordinating relations, and assisting the government with making decisions and policies.

As the Tianjin New Coastal District kept raising its demand for service outsourcing, a series of service outsourcing enterprises involving information, HR, financial management, logistics, after-sale service, and product R&D came to TEDA one after another. For instance, over 100 software development and service companies were registered in TEDA by the end of 2006, of which 43 obtained their related certification, and three attained the CMM Level 2 certification.

TEDA boasts relatively outstanding advantages in HR, industrial foundation, infrastructure, business costs, etc, and the potential to gather service outsourcing providers and develop the service outsourcing industry. TEDA Software Park was set up in TEDA to foster its regional software service outsourcing platform and develop itself into a state-level software industrial base which combines software R&D, production, services, exportation and software talent trainings. Besides, TEDA possesses complete and internationally advanced information infrastructure. The total length of optic fiber in its broadband amounted to 30,500 core km, and that of communications pipes 3,460 hole km. With its outbound bandwidth up to 40.62 Gbps, the broadband speed reaches 1,000 Mbps in residential communities, 100 Mbps in enterprises, and 10 Mbps in households.

Recently, TEDA released the 2007 energy price policy, which is marked by a readjustment on the water and gas rates. Industrial enterprises are still entitled to preferential rates to some extent. The new charging standard will take effect as of April 1st, 2007. Further information is available on the web pages of Investteda and the TEDA Commodity Price Office at http://www.investteda.org/zxgg/t20070302_51286.htm and http://www.teda.gov.cn/fzjhj/index.jsp.