Apr. 27, 2012 (China Knowledge) - Tianjin TEDA, a triple-A rated industrial park and ranked first by Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China for 14 consecutive years, is integrating financial leasing services as part of its growth plan.
 
To tap on the growing demand of financial leasing services in China where businesses' assets are collateralized or backed for cash borrowings, TEDA is fast evolving into a national financial leasing center to capture these massive growth opportunities. Over 70 foreign and local financial leasing companies were attracted to set up business in Tianjin with registered capital exceeding RMB 38 billion. As at the end of 2011, the city had accumulated financial leasing contracts worth RMB 230 billion, a quarter of China's total.
 
Recently, Tianjin's top officials and Supervisors from TEDA and Nangang Industrial Zone witnessed the signing ceremony of 8 international and Chinese financial leasing companies with committed registered investment of USD 140 million in total. These include U.S-based CIT, Societe Generale's SG Equipment Finance, TPG-backed UniTrust Finance & Leasing Corp, HK's Concord Leasing Group and several other domestic financial leasing firms. These include Huixin International Finance Leasing Co that focuses on construction industry, Hujin Finance Leasing Co from Zhejiang Province, Zhonghelian Finance Leasing Co under the China Development Bank, and Shandong Dahan Finance Leasing Co.

As of to date, the country's largest bank ICBC, Industrial Bank Co Ltd; and, heavy machine and equipment providers John Deere and Zoomlion together with twelve other leasing companies in TEDA had engaged in RMB 130 billion of leasing contracts or almost half of the Tianjin's total.  
 
TEDA is creating a dynamic and innovative business environment conducive to businesses operating in the industrial park, designated by Central government as a showpiece for next growth engine.

Besides being the most attractive investment venue for Fortune 500 companies, TEDA is also a popular area for both State-owned and large domestic manufacturing companies. The settlement of large influx of international, as well as, large domestic and state-owned financial leasing companies in TEDA could position itself to become a competitive and formidable global business hub.