A delegation led by Baek Sang Hwan, CEO of Dong-A Pharmaceutical, visited Haikou for an inspection tour in November 2025. (Source: hinews.cn)

With the ongoing development of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), China's southernmost gateway is accelerating its transformation into a new hub for international investment.

At the end of February this year, South Korea's Dong-A Pharmaceutical officially set up a subsidiary in the Haikou National High-Tech Zone, Dong-A Pharmaceutical (Hainan) Co., Ltd.

Addressing its decision to establish a presence in the Hainan FTP, the company's representative stated, "We are attracted by the policy advantages of the Hainan FTP and plan to use Haikou as a pivot to build an international trade center and product processing base, serving both the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets." They further explained that the open policies and efficient government services of the Hainan FTP were key factors in their decision to establish operations there.

This is not an isolated case. In recent years, a number of internationally influential projects have been successively launched in Hainan: Siemens Energy, a Fortune 500 company, established its first gas turbine assembly base and service center in Hainan; Boao Fullerton Cardiovascular Hospital, the first wholly foreign-owned hospital in China, received its operating license; projects such as the "Republic of Korea National Pavilion" and other international cooperation projects have commenced construction, with others steadily progressing.

Haikou Fullsing Internet Industrial Park. (Source: hinews.cn)

By April 26, 2026, four months after Hainan launched island-wide special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the province saw 139,000 new business entities established, a year-on-year increase of 58.62%. Of them, 112,700 are enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 117.502%. Proportionally, this represents a rise from 42% immediately before island-wide special customs operations to 81.04%. 1,004 new foreign-funded enterprises (FFEs) were established, up 35.86%. Their number, added to the 12,300 existing FFEs, represents an overall growth of 17.62%, with investment sources spanning 180 countries and regions.

The benefits of the launch of island-wide special customs operations have continued to strengthen the Hainan FTP's ability to attract global production factors. To bolster market access for FFEs, Hainan has pioneered a series of institutional innovations. These include promoting fully online processing of enterprise registrations, simplifying identity verification and registration materials for foreign investors, implementing a direct registration system for foreign enterprises, introducing integrated "one-stop" services for business incorporation, amendment, and dissolution, and piloting "combined license and permit" processing for common business types.

These reforms have significantly improved business efficiency. Official data show that these measures have reduced average pre-establishment preparation time by 1-3 months and cut registration processing time by nearly 90%.

Meanwhile, Hainan has been continuously improving its international investment service system, including establishing a "single window" for international investment, launching a bilingual policy service platform, creating a regular communication mechanism for FFEs, and implementing a dedicated service system for key enterprises.

The Three-Year Action Plan for Optimizing Foreign-Related Services and Enhancing the International Business Environment, recently released by the provincial government, further proposes 30 specific measures, focused on facilitating cross-border services, enhancing international business support, and full lifecycle service guarantees for enterprises.

For international investors looking to enter the Chinese market and capitalize on resources in the Asia-Pacific region, Hainan is increasingly appearing as a strong strategic option.