ECONOMY ListPage

By Dai Qi

China's Hainan province is expected to spend over 100 billion yuan to improve its infrastructure systems, according to the Securities Daily on Sunday.

Fei Yaoyao, an analyst from Vanho Securities, said that favorable policies from the government could trigger a boom in the building of infrastructures in Hainan Province.

"For example, it is estimated that over 30 billion yuan will be invested on high-speed railways and nearly 100 billion yuan on a new airport in Sanya City," said Fei.

Meanwhile, Hainan will also endeavor to expand the coverage of high speed and more effective communication networks within its border, according to a plan released by the local government on Aug. 1.

The plan said that the province would invest over 12 billion yuan to achieve the goal of raising the speed of the overall communication network, expanding its coverage in rural areas and adopting a new generation of communication networks like 5G and IPv6.

Apart from infrastructure improvements, Hainan has been striving to build itself into a free trade port in many respects.

Xiao Benhua, an expert from the Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, said that Hainan could take advantage of its location to promote innovation in institutional arrangements.

"China is expected to see a wider opening-up in free trade zones and free trade ports in the second half of this year, especially in the service sector. I think Hainan should grasp this chance and center on the building of an international hub for tourism and consumption," said Xiao.

Liang Haiming, president of the China Silk Road iValley Research Institute, said that Hainan could integrate its role as a free trade port into China's plan to promote the Belt and Road Initiative.