With financial reform continues to deepen in the Tianjin Binhai New Area (also known as Tianjin New Coastal District),more banks began to upgrade their local institutions in hopes of stronger expansion.Mizuho Corporate Bank recently announced that its Tianjin Branch would become operational at the Binhai Financial Street before the end of this July.The new agency will be the first foreign bank branch in the TBNA and the first Mizuho Chinese branch since the commencement of Mizuho Corporate Bank (China) Co.,Ltd.

Founded on April 1st,2002 as the second largest financial institution in Japan,the Tokyo-headquartered Mizuho maintains close partnership with big conglomerates, financial institutions and other major overseas clients. Its Chinese incorporated entity,Mizuho Corporate Bank (China) Co.,Ltd. opened on June 1st,2007 in Shanghai with a registered capital of 4 billion RMB yuan. It has obtained approval from the CBRC (China Banking Regulatory Commission) for setting up a branch in Tianjin last December,increasing the total number of foreign bank branches in Tianjin to 14.

Recently,the opening ceremony of Otis Elevator TEDA Center was held in TEDA.

It is learned that Otis Elevator TEDA Center,the most advanced elevator base around the globe,is located in the Ninth Avenue of TEDA. The Center covers 140,000 square meters and its green coverage ratio is 23.02%. After starting production,the Center will become a global leader in manufacturing elevators and parts and components. It is expected to produce 20,000 elevators and 50,000 elevator traction machines per year. Owning the world's best machine-room-less technology,permanent magnet gearless technology,and R&D,manufacturing, and testing capacity for high speed elevators used in high rise buildings,the Center will deliver its products and services to both domestic and overseas market.

In 2006,the United Technologies Corporation (UTC), of which Otis Elevator Company is a part,ranked as number 126 among Fortune 500 companies and the 43rd among America's Largest Corporations chosen by Fortune. Between 2001 to 2006,UTC has been named by Fortune as one of the Most Admired Aerospace Companies for six consecutive years. Also,in 2005, America's Industry Week ranked UTC as the 20th largest U.S manufacturer,and Forbes ranked it as one of the seven Best-Managed Companies in America. For the year 2004 and 2005,UTC has been selected for two consecutive years as one of the World's Top 100 Most Sustainable Corporations. In 2005, UTC's business revenue reached US$42.7 billion, and its total assets exceeded US$40 billion. It has more than 2,000 affiliates in over 180 countries and over 220,000 employees worldwide. Sharing strengths with UTC allows Otis to draw on remarkable resources in engineering, product testing, promcurement,marketing, and information systems.

Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited (hereinafter abbreviated to SCBCL) recently commenced the operations of Scope International (China) Co.,Ltd.in TEDA The event marked that the TNCD-based information hub of SCBCL officially began to play its role as a strong support for the operations of SCBCL.

It is learnt that with an initial investment of two million dollars,the facility will promote the integration of the financial service platforms of SCBCL in China and support and improve its services.At present Scope International Co.,Ltd.have its two largest facilities of this kind in India and Malaysia. The facility in Tianjin will serve China in the initial phase and gradually expand its services to other regions in line with the long-term strategy of SCBCL.

Recently,a ground-breaking ceremony of Honeywell was held in TEDA,marking the beginning of a new ECC (Environmental and Combustion Controls) facility.

Situated at the intersection of the No.9 Avenue and Nanhai Road,the new ECC facility has a total investment of USD 10 million.It is supposed to supply cutting-edge products such as smart temperature control system,ventilation control system, and environmental control system for homes and buildings. As a recognized leader in the hi-tech world,these Honeywell series enjoy high reputation and market share worldwide.

Recently Tianjin Guofeng Mold Technology Co.,Ltd. held its opening ceremony in TEDA.

It is learnt that with a total investment of 12.5 million dollars,the company is located at the 13th Avenue of TEDA and occupies a land of 22,000 square meters.It is engaged in the manufacturing of molds for automobile interior trim,home appliances,medical and telecommunication equipment,etc.

It is learnt from the meeting on presenting the investment environment of Tianjin during the Tianjin China-South Korea Week of Friendship,Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology Co.,Ltd. decided to increase 800 million dollars of investment to expand its annual output of mobile phones from 41.7 million to 80 million.

It is introduced that it is the second large investment increase of the company after the 168 million dollar increase in 2005. After its first investment increase, its monthly output of mobile phones rose from less than 20,000 to 3.5 million. In last October,its monthly output exceeded four million,ranking first in the country.The consecutive investment increases are motivated by the plan of the headquarters of Samsung of building its Tianjin facility into the largest mobile phone manufacturing and R&D base of Samsung in China and abroad. The first investment increase has made Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology the largest mobile phone manufacturing and R&D base of the Samsung in the world, and the second one will further enhance its capacity.

Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology Co., Ltd. was co-established by South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd.and Tianjin Electronics & Instrument Industrial General Corporation with an initial investment of 29 million dollars in July of 2001. 
    

On July 19,Cabot Chemical (Tianjin) Co.,Ltd.held a ground-breaking ceremony for its 2nd phase expansion project in the Chemical Industrial Park of TEDA.

It is learnt that Cabot Corporation,a multinational group headquartered in Boston,U.S., is engaged in the production of special chemical products and materials.Its products involve carbon black,fumed silica,inkjet colorants, microelectronic materials,Nanogel,plastic color master batches,and specialty fluids of cesium formate.Cabot Chemical (Tianjin) Co.,Ltd. was co-established by Cabot Corporation and Shanghai Coking & Chemical Corporation. Now the production lines of the company are running at full load. After the completion of its expansion project,the company will better meet the demand of the Chinese market. With a total investment of 65 million dollars,the expansion project will add two new carbon black production lines and increase the company's annual production capacity to 250,000 ton.