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Shenzhen: one of the most important megacities in China

Shenzen TowersOne fact shows the economic power of Shenzhen: about 40% of the city’s GDP is produced by companies related to innovation.

The city is located in Guangzhou, which is an economic leader region in China. According to data provided by the Ministry of Economy of Spain, it is the province that contributes the highest GDP to the Chinese economy, almost 10.7%. It’s also the leading exporting region, 27.6% of all Chinese exports, and the region with the highest level in consumer sales, 10.5%.

Within this province, Shenzhen stands out. With more than 10 million inhabitants and less than 2000 km2, this city near Hong Kong has become a world reference. In just 30 years, it has gone from being a fishing village with less than 20,000 inhabitants to one of the most important megacities in China, next to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with an annual growth of 30%.

One of the big differences between Shenzhen and other megacities is the number of SMEs. There are more than 1,000,000 companies in the city, including 8,000 technology companies (not only SMEs but also giants such as Tencent or Huawei). It’s not only one of the world’s largest factories: innovation and technology are also standouts. This way, Shenzen has managed to differentiate itself from its neighboring city, Hong Kong.

One difference is that, while 96% of Hong Kong’s GDP comes from services, with hardly any industry, 40% of GDP in Shenzhen is generated by companies related to innovation. This fact is the result from a decision taken in the 90’s, in which it was decided to move the industry to Shenzen. This has led to Shenzen being considered the Chinese Silicon Valley.

 

Opportunities in Shenzhen

There are great opportunities, both for investment and production, for Western companies. It is worth pointing out the industrial goods sector, equipment goods, automotive components, chemical products, nuclear equipment, and construction materials.

Spanish companies can offer their experience in services such as education and tourism. There are Spanish hotels such as NH and Meliá that are already installed in the city. Other sectors that offer investment and export opportunities include health, transport, water and waste management, agri-food and luxury goods.

As we have seen, there are numerous reasons to take Shenzen in consideration. We can add that Shenzen is the fourth largest container port in the world, and its geographic proximity to other markets in Asia.