The dirty province of China is trying to become a new Switzerland

Hebei Province wants to adopt the experience of Switzerland and launch a campaign to attract specialists in investment and private capital management. Like a number of other Chinese regions, it is trying to reduce its dependence on heavy industry. Local government policy should lead to the construction of offices and business districts, but it is unclear if they will need them.

Hebei is the largest steel producer and the most polluted province of the country. According to the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, five of the top 10 most polluted cities in the country were in Hebei in the first half, including the administrative center of Shijiazhuang. The smog clouds, which thicken for a long time on Beijing, are generally caused by the activity of Hebei ironworks.

However, steel production in the province is declining; The Hebei authorities announced in July plans to reduce it in some cities by 50% by 2020. They will also hold a second forum in July dedicated to financial innovations with the Swiss Embbady. Representatives from leading private wealth management banks will be attending, including UBS, Credit Suisse and Julius Baer. The forum is designed to promote the development of this industry in Hebei. "In the context of the gradual development of relations between Switzerland and China, especially in the economic and financial fields, it makes sense to consider new opportunities and markets," notes Jean-Philippe Jutzi de l'& ## 39, Embbady of Switzerland in China. , Hebei has no obvious advantages over other financial centers of China, for example, Beijing or Shanghai. The provincial government has not answered questions about how it plans to compete with them.

In recent years, a number of Chinese cities have set themselves the goal of becoming regional financial centers, while the manufacturing sector has faded. But skyscrapers, built in many second- and third-tier cities, are often not filled with tenants for a long time. For example, in the city of Chongqing, in the central part of the country, there has been a construction boom in the last five years, during which seven different business districts were created in the center of Chongqing. the city. But by the end of 2016 in Chongqing, 46 percent of the vacant offices were empty, according to Savills. In Chengdu on Southwest of China, five business districts were built, but 34% of the offices remain free. Hebei risks repeating their fate.

At the same time, tenants are often not the ones they expected at first. "Typically, these are small startups engaged in data processing or even warehousing.The owners of buildings, many of which are state-owned companies, give them discounts, until the desired customers finally appear," he said. said John Zakarias, employee and specialist of the Peking University in the development of Chinese business districts

Don Weineland / Financial Times

Translated by Alexey Nevelsky