BEIJING, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This is part of a transcript, from China SCIO, of the press conference held on Monday about the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP):

The Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) saw an explosive growth in foreign investment over the past three years thanks to its favorable policies, an official said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Monday.

Feng Fei, governor of Hainan province, made the following remarks at the press conference.

The explosive growth in foreign investment over the past three years has become a highlight in the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Specifically, I'd like to explain this through exponential growths in three areas.

First, Hainan's actual use of foreign capital doubled annually for three years in a row, with the aggregate exceeding half of what the island province had accumulated over 30 years since it became a special economic zone in 1988.

Second, the number of foreign investment entities grew exponentially. The number of newly established foreign-invested companies in Hainan reached 1,005 last year, surpassing the 1,000 mark and nearly tripling that of 2019. Keep in mind that last year was severely impacted by the pandemic, so it was quite a hard-earned achievement.

Third, the number of sources of foreign investment grew exponentially. Over 80 countries and regions, including Russia, have invested here.

Why has Hainan become a favored place for global investment? I would use two "lowest" to sum up its favorable policies.

First, the lowest number of items on its foreign investment negative list. There are 33 items on the national list, 30 on the list of free trade zones, and 27 on the list of Hainan.

Second, the lowest taxes. What foreign-invested companies care most about is, for example, the corporate income tax. Companies in industries encouraged by Hainan enjoy a corporate income tax rate of 15%. High-end talents pay income tax no higher than 15% of their gross income. Those two policies are exclusive to Hainan.

Official: Hainan FTP sees explosive growth in foreign investment