An investment promotion conference in the Baohe district of the city of Hefei, on May 25, resulted in contracts on 18 projects involving a total investment of 58.8 billion yuan ($9.2 billion).

Some of these involved central enterprises, such as PetroChina, CNOOC, and the China Railway’s 13th Bureau setting up headquarters in the district, and HKSTV and Huace Film TV building a film and television base.

The conference set a record in Baohe history and brought some rather lucrative returns, with 10 of the projects involving more than one billion yuan in capital and two amounting to 10 billion yuan. The PetroChina project is for the Anhui Mansion headquarters, while the 13th Bureau is for a large infrastructure construction project, and the CNOOC project involves its Anhui sales headquarters. Another project for the China National Agrochemical Corp (CNAC) is for its eastern Chinese headquarters and international R D center.

Two of the companies – HKSTV and Huace Film TV – plan to invest heavily on film bases near Chaohu Lake.

HKSTV expects to put four billion yuan into a cultural industry headquarters, a five-star hotel, and residences. The plan calls for the Hong Kong-based company to build a studio city in the town of Yicheng to create a Chinese "Hollywood".

Meanwhile, Huace Film TV favors Daxu and other rural areas, as it strives to create an eco-film base, with many businesses, using the local wetland.

On contract -- between the Xin Tian Quan Real Estate Investment Co and the district government --calls for the company to put 800 million yuan into a food city with a cluster of hotels and recreation areas around the Ningguo Rd - Bachang Rd junction.

Paradise-on-Earth and some other top food and entertainment complexes are already operating in Yuningdao, near Ningguo Rd, so Ningguo's food street will soon begin an upgrade.

Edited by Fu Bo and Rakhee(chinadaily.com.cn)