XAIC releases list of top 100 local private enterprises

The Xiamen Association of Industry and Commerce (XAIC) last week released its list of the year's top 100 local private enterprises. The operating income threshold for listed enterprises stood at 1.14 billion yuan, up by more than 12.6 percent year-on-year.

City officials recently hosted an inauguration ceremony for the Xiamen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Dongzhimen Hospital. The event also served as the groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital's upcoming rehabilitation building, a state-level regional medical center project. An initial group of 28 medical workers received an assignment to the hospital, which launched its remote video diagnosis service.

Xiamen officials last week announced the results of a local program designed to boost city's business environment. In the first three quarters of the year, 132,000 new market entities registered in Xiamen, a net increase of 79,000 firms.

Programs included in the raft of measures including self-service terminals for digital access to city-bases administrative services, China's first Bankruptcy Public Affairs Center and other initiatives in areas such as government administration, taxation, HR and legal affairs.

Xiamen ranked among China's top regions from 2018 through 2020 for its business environment. The city rated as a national benchmark municipality in all 18 level-one indicators. It ranked in the top ten on more than a dozen of the 14 indicators.

Bird watching enthusiast Zhou Hua, a member of the Xiamen Birdwatching Society, noted recently that a number of greater white-fronted geese have arrived in Maluan bay in Haicang District as part of their winter migration. Other rare winter birds spotted flying southwards include Baillon's crake, water rail and the black-faced spoonbill. Representatives of the Xiamen Birdwatching Society urged onlookers not to disturb migratory birds as they overwinter and forage for sustenance.

The Xiamen Film and Television Enterprise recently earned a pair of Feitian awards when a pair of its television series gathered prizes in the outstanding television show category. The winning shows were Mountain-and-Sea Love and Top Secret Mission.

The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television hosts the awards ceremony, which is undertaken by the China Television Arts Commission. The Feitian award is considered one of China's top government-sponsored media prizes, alongside the Golden Eagle award and the Magnolia award.

Local postal authorities last week released the results of the city's postal industry in September. The sector's business revenue in Xiamen hit 738 million yuan, up more than 3.4 percent year-on-year. The industry delivered more than 56.4 million items, up year-on-year by more than 14.4 percent.

The local intra-city courier sector accounted for 16.28 percent of all courier business in the first nine months of the year. Business revenue accounted for 7.1 percent of total courier revenue.

The Xiamen Bureau of Statistics recently released a summary report detailing the city's commerce economy in the first three quarters of the year. The city's wholesale and retail industry notched sales exceeded 2.7 trillion yuan, up 24.4 percent over the same period last year. The municipal wholesale and retail growth rate was the second-highest in Fujian.

Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 204.3 billion yuan, up year-on-year by 4.4 percent, which is 3.7 percentage points higher than the national average.

The city of Xiamen recently sponsored along with the China Internet Association (CIA) a conference that included the release of a ranked list of China's 100 largest internet firms. Three Xiamen-based companies made the list. Meitu ranked 33rd, followed by 4399 company at 45th and Gibbitt at 60th. Xiamen will host the conference and release announcement of the list for the next three years. Last year, the local software and internet industries exceeded 130 billion yuan.

National authorities recently announced an update on construction of the second stage of the national provincial trunk road's Lianxi extension. Work on the Changtai entryway for the new thoroughfare is all but complete. The tunnel is located in the Mayangxi eco-tourism zone in the village of Houfang.

Boring is slated to begin this month, with the entire tunnel scheduled for completion in 2024. The tunnel will save an estimated 30 minutes in travel time for commuters between the city of Xiamen and Changtai localities such as Fangyang, Lindun and Shan Chong.

Each of Xiamen's three listed state-owned enterprises reported steady growth in the third quarter of the year. C&D Inc. reported an operating income of 564.5 billion yuan, up year-on-year by more than 19.8 percent. The Xiamen ITG Holding Group announced operating revenue of 404.3 billion yuan, up 12.9 percent. XMXYG reported operating income of 391.8 billion yuan, up 13.7 percent from the same period last year.

Local authorities reported that workers from the city of Xiamen removed 296 acres of smooth cordgrass from area waters two months ahead of schedule. Originally planted in the 1970s to protect shorelines and capture sediment, smooth cordgrass is today viewed as a dangerous invasive species that impacts the ecological environment and marine productivity.

A wave of new apps that allow individuals to order home-made food from other local residents is sparking a new culinary trend. Aspiring cooks will prepare a homecooked meal for between 60 and 100 yuan, with the chefs travel to a person's home. Local authorities suggested that consumers opt for qualified cooks with health certificates.