FTZDIG: Setting Sail Again by Taking Advantage of the GFTZ Written by Xu Junhao

Tingting

In recent years， thanks to the unremitting efforts jointly made by Guangxi Qinzhou Free Trade Port Area （GQFTPA） as well as its affiliated state-owned enterprises and the investment and financing platform of GQFTPA Management Committee — Guangxi Free Trade Zone Qinzhou Port Area Development and Investment Group （FTZDIG）， imported red wine， meat and seafood， famous beauty makeup， maternal and child products and other imported goods have enjoyed higher reputation in Qinzhou， Guangxi， offering local citizens more choices for shopping.

After GQFTPA was officially opened and operated in 2011， it has successively been approved to build the whole vehicle import port， grain import port， meat import port， fruit import port， the parallel import pilot port for automobiles and the demonstration zone for imported wine comprehensive service industry well-known brand， thus resulting in the emergence of the FTZDIG. Since the establishment of FTZDIG in 2016， the group has relied on the policies， geographical conditions and investment environment of GQFTPA， to promote the management of supply chain， import and export trade and cross-border E-commerce.

“To some extent， we have set an example in Guangxi and even in the southwest China，” said He Bin， Executive Director and General Manager of FTZDIG in an interview with China-ASEAN Panorama， “At present， we have built the MAYI Imported Goods， the only cross-border E-commerce O2O franchise brand in southwest China， as well as Guangxis only brand to participate in the China International Import Expo for two consecutive sessions. In addition， we have been awarded the title of the ‘Designated Importer in South China by Treasury Wine Estates， a leading international wine group， which sets us apart from the competition.”

As the flagship brand of FTZDIG， MAYI Imported Goods have opened more than 30 stores in Guangxi， offering over 2，000 brands and tens of thousands of original imported goods from more than 60 countries and regions， including ASEAN， Japan， South Korea， Europe and the United States， so that a variety of foreign goods are available for citizens at home.

By virtue of GQFTPAs preferential policies and regional advantages constantly being mined， as well as the development mode of “brand + industry” and “brand + supply chain”， FTZDIG has maintained rapid development in the past few years. At present， there are seven wholly-owned subsidiaries， three joint venture holding companies， two joint-stock companies， and one contract cold storage enterprise under the group. According to He Bin， FTZDIGs revenue exceeded RMB 2 billion yuan in 2019， far more than RMB 200 million yuan in 2016.

To build the most vigorous platform in southwest China

In August 2019， China （Guangxi） Pilot Free Trade Zone （GFTZ） Qinzhou Port Area was established. Immediately， Guangxi Qinzhou Free Trade Port Area Investment Group was officially renamed as Guangxi Free Trade Zone Qinzhou Port Area Development and Investment Group in November 2019， which implies its hope of seizing the new opportunities brought by GFTZ and promoting its upgrade and development.

“Since the establishment of GFTZ in August 2019， our revenue in the fourth quarter has surpassed that of the previous three quarters. Also， the establishment of GFTZ has exerted a positive impact on our brand and business， bringing satisfying achievements，” said He Bin.

In addition to driving the growth of business， GFTZ has a more far-reaching impact on FTZDIG. Originally， FTZDIG is mainly responsible for the development investment of GQFTPA， with a planned area of 10 km2， but now it supports the development investment of Qinzhou Port Area that covers an area of 58.19 km2.

In addition， the aim of FTZ is to create a good business environment to stimulate the vitality of the main market players. Against this backdrop， FTZDIG， located in GFTZ Qinzhou Port Area， has become one of the regional brand groups with the most favorable policies and the most vigorous market.

With the first-class business environment in GFTZ， FTZDIG will promote its transformation and upgrade. “We are aimed at building the most dynamic supply chain service platform in southwest China. Also， we will provide more importers with one-stop services through overseas sourcing， logistics， warehousing， customs clearance services and back-end financial support， so that they can quickly become bigger and stronger，” said He Bin.

To enhance cooperation with ASEAN

In fact， one of the crucial goals for GFTZ Qinzhou Port Area is to build a pilot zone for China-ASEAN cooperation. Accordingly， FTZDIG has been always boosting the trade for enterprises between China and ASEAN.

CASTPP， a trade promotion platform jointly sponsored by GQFTPA Management Committee and China-ASEAN Panorama， supported by the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia， and operated by FTZDIG， has been actively promoting trade between China and ASEAN every year， especially in the area of fast-moving consumer goods. Up to now， FTZDIG has introduced more than 100 kinds of fast-moving consumer goods from Malaysia and Thailand into China. In the stores of MAYI Imported Goods， the shelves were filled with Malaysias white coffee， Thailands skincare products and goods from other ASEAN countries.

“With its name change， next， FTZDIG will focus on some ASEANs products with advantages， such as Malaysias musang king durian and birds nest，” said He.

In 2019， GQFTPA has become the first port for Malaysias frozen musang king durian with shell and raw birds nest to enter China.

“We are now planning to make GQFTPA a designated port for durian import from Malaysias Pahang State. In this way， consumers or durian lovers across the country can know that there are guaranteed quality and affordable durian in Qinzhou. At the same time， depending on the processing base for raw birds nest established by China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park， we will provide full supply chain management for such enterprises， and adhere to overseas procurement and reduce intermediate links， so that more affordable birds nests are available，” said He.