??? ACCORDING to statistics, there are 92 projects with total investment of US$507 million which received foreign investment last year. About US$478 million of this was made by Chinese companies. ??? Over recent years, Qingdao companies have expanded on the international market. Most of them set up trading companies and offices in overseas countries and gradually opened production bases, resources development centers, cooperation centers, buyout centers and research and development centers. ??? Last year, vehicle and ship firm Qingdao Lixing bought an Italian ship manufacturing company for US$18.64 million, becoming the first company in Qingdao to buy out a foreign ship maker. Because of the buyout, the company is now part of the world’s high-end yacht manufacturing industry. ??? Due to the economic recession hitting European and American companies, many Qingdao companies have grabbed the chance to expand on the global market. Last year, 12 overseas projects were bought by Qingdao companies. ??? Building R&D center ??? Many companies built research and development centers in foreign countries and areas to get closer to their target clients. Hisense Group built three research and development centers overseas last year, introducing high-end local professionals to improve their technology. It also cooperated with many big companies such as Hitachi and IBM and will set up more centers in Japan, South Korea, Israel and other Middle East countries. ??? Last year, Qingdao approved four research and development projects overseas. ??? Resource development ??? Jingwang Group bought an oil field project in Oklahoma, the United States last year, becoming China’s first company to buy an oil field in the country. ??? It also bought six oil fields covering an area of 290 square kilometers and natural gas fields in the United States. ??? Other companies also bought several mines overseas last year. ??? Overseas contracting projects ??? Many companies are also targeting overseas contracting projects with high added value. ??? Last year, several petrochemical and design projects made sales revenue of US$445 million, increasing by 21.4 percent than the previous year. ??? Production transferring ??? Overseas investment has helped speed up the city’s production transferring. ??? Last year, the city approved 22 manufacturing projects, 300 percent more than in 2010. (Wang Yuanyuan, Shen Junlin) ? | 