The Yangtze port city of Taicang signed 29 investment agreements worth a combined Rmb7.2bn at its economic and trade fair held in late October, reported China Daily. Eighteen of the projects involved foreign companies, with a total investment of US$686m.

Taicang, situated in eastern Jiangsu province to the northwest of Shanghai, has become an important destination for foreign investors. Its main industries are petroleum and chemicals, power and energy, paper-making and warehouse logistics. New projects signed at the fair covered equipment manufacturing, machinery, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and real estate.

The fair also held discussions on cross-Straits port logistics and manufacturing partnerships. During the past three years, Taicang has spent more than Rmb6bn on its port infrastructure, building 48 berths and initiating more than 70 domestic and foreign routes.

In the first three-quarters of 2009, the port recorded a total throughput of 35.5m tons and 1.08m teu − up 26 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively, compared with the same period last year.