In 2013, Qingdao invested nearly 122.7 billion yuan (US$20.05 billion) to expand, rebuild technical facilities and purchase industry equipment, up 24.2 percent year-on-year. Investment in and growth of industry technology improvement are among the leading ones in the province.
Policy support continues to increase. Last year, the city set up special loan discount funds for technology renovation. It assisted 31 projects from the first batch and distributed bank loans of more than 1.1 billion yuan (US$180 million) in fixed assets.
Additionally, the advanced equipment used in investment projects encouraged by the central government is duty free. In 2013, Qingdao imported US$18.07 million in acquiring advanced equipment for nine investment projects, up 24.5 percent year-on-year. Through the policy, the city has imported a large amount of advanced facilities such as high-end CNC machine tools and particle accelerators, promoting the equipment renewal and upgrading the overall industry.
