A view of Sanya Central Business District in Hainan, China. (Photo: VCG)

According to information published by the Hainan Provincial Bureau of Statistics on May 14, the economy of the thirteen key industrial parks of the Hainan Free Trade Port (Hainan FTP) got off to an excellent start in the first quarter of 2025, achieving stable positive development. The thirteen parks achieved Q1 revenues of 591.3 billion yuan (approximately $81.7 billion), an increase of 1.6% year-on-year.

Over the first quarter of the year, the total operating income of the Hainan FTP industrial parks increased slightly overall. The Yangpu Economic Development Zone, Haikou Integrated Free Trade Zone, and Sanya Central Business District provided the bulk of the rise, driving overall revenue growth by 1.9, 1.5 and 1.0 percentage points respectively. By industry, manufacturing (+7.9%), wholesale (+1.9%), and retail (+1.8%) sectors made notable contributions to the upward trend. Meanwhile, fixed asset investment surged during the same period. The Hainan Ecological Software Park (+280%), Lingao Jinpai Port Development Zone (+370%), Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City (+40.4%), and the Lingshui Li'an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone (+220%) as the main driving forces, increasing the scale of investment in the key parks of the FTP.

Tax revenues from key parks in Hainan increased by 10.2% year-on-year to 18.4 billion yuan ($2.56 billion ), with the growth rate 4.1 percentage points higher than the provincial average. The Sanya Central Business District, Haikou Jiangdong New District, and Yangpu Economic Development Zone were the main contributors of tax revenues during this quarter. Revenue in the high-tech industry reached 114.4 billion yuan($15.8 billion), marking a 9.1% year-on-year increase. The Yangpu Economic Development Zone, Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community, and Haikou Fullsing Internet Industrial Park together accounted for over 70% of the sector’ s total revenue, with the first two contributing 5.1 and 5.0 percentage points to the overall growth respectively. Investment in the modern services sector totaled 15.1 billion yuan ($2.09 billion), up by 22.8%.

At the end of the first quarter of 2025, the total number of enterprises above designated size in Hainan’s industrial parks had reached 2,628, an increase of 531 over the same period in the previous year, with 166 newly added this year. The business structure of the parks continued to be optimized, laying a solid foundation for the long-term development of Hainan Free Trade Port.

(Jointly produced by the Office of the Free Trade Port Working Committee of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and the Hainan International Media Center)