Foshan is a pre historic Chinese town, and is famous, or rather, WAS once famous for its porcelain industry. This industry has almost vanished now with the advent of stainless steel and its usage in cutlery, which was the biggest market for porcelain till some years back. It is a modern Chinese city and has had a pronounced effect of the rising economy on it. Rampant construction in haphazard manner, rising traffic and population have made it a chaotic city nonetheless.
Chinese agriculture depends upon AMDs or Agricultural Model districts, where modern technology and sales and service products are implemented in a way so as to attract the end customer. Clients from world over frequent these AMD districts in and around Foshan to get good deals on agricultural products and raw materials. Technological knowledge is also ‘sold’ in form of new fertilizer formulas, genetically developed seeds etc. Foshan has the reputation of being the largest wholesale, agricultural production and storage and agriculture logistic base in Guangdong province.
Foshan is the third largest province in terms of manufacturing units in the Pearl River Delta area after Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Key industries here include furniture, electronics and communication, plastics, stainless steal and plastic industries. This is home to furniture import and export and is and underground hub of furniture trading, most of which is exported to the west through medium and small scale traders. Household electrical appliances and tool manufacturing and heavy engineering industry is also fast catching up. Other investment opportunities include investment in one of the townships and villas that are coming up all over this prefecture district, especially in the newly approved residential areas of Shunde and Nanhai. It is said that traders from Guangzhou and Shenzhen, who cannot afford living spaces there have brought their houses in this region.
Projections have it that real estate prices are bound to move up because of a one sided demand and supply equation (demand being higher, of course!), and therefore, if you have some spare money, buy a villa in a township, or sponsor a township itself. Some of the areas in Foshan are known for their specific industry itself, for example, Beijiao is known for household electrical appliances, Chencun for flowers and horticulture, Nanzhaung for ceramics and building materials, Lecong for furniture manufacturing, distribution and retail and Yanbu for hosiery materials.
Foshan is one of many small Chinese towns, which are contributing in a big way to the booming economy. Trade in these places is limited to the local manufacturer mostly till now, but recently, many international players, on the small scale, have started making inroads in to towns like Foshan, to capitalize on infrastructure and manufacturing potential on offer here. Don’t be left behind!