TWELVE companies have agreed to invest a total of 14.4 billion yuan (US$2.32 billion) in Wuzhong District, Suzhou, as the local government aims to attract investment in the booming area in Jiangsu Province.
These deals, signed on Tuesday in Shanghai, include a Sheraton hotel, a cultural industry zone and a commercial complex.
Wuzhong, which sits by Taihu Lake, is known for farm products such as crab and tea. Local officials have listed logistics, service outsourcing, financial and information service industry as the district's growth engines.
By 2015, the service industries will account for more than half of the distric's gross domestic product, Wuzhong officials said. Wuzhong is about one and a half hour's drive to Shanghai.