Foreign investment injected strong momentum into Longhua District’s high-quality development in 2025, with significant progress made in both the scale and quality of foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as in project reserves, policy implementation, and services for foreign-funded enterprises.

An aerial view of Longhua.

At a recent seminar attended by representatives of foreign-funded companies based in Longhua — including Hexagon, City Football Group, and MTR Consulting — district authorities announced that Longhua’s actual utilized FDI exceeded 2 billion yuan (USD286 million) in 2025, marking a robust year-on-year increase of 91.16%.

Notably, FDI from non–Hong Kong sources reached 880 million yuan, up 126.26% year on year, highlighting the growing effectiveness of diversified investment attraction efforts.

Looking ahead, six key foreign-funded enterprises in the district are expected to contribute a combined capital inflow of approximately 1.021 billion yuan in 2026. Meanwhile, notable progress has been made in cultivating cross-regional headquarters enterprises, with six companies recognized, including three newly added in 2025.

These achievements stem from the precise delivery of preferential policies and the continued optimization of the business environment. The district’s commerce bureau has conducted online surveys to gauge investment intentions among 300 enterprises and carried out on-site investigations into profit reinvestment and tax rebate applications at 21 companies, with two enterprises successfully completing subsidy applications.

Since 2024, Longhua has rolled out a series of measures to stabilize and boost foreign investment. These include implementing foreign investment incentive policies, establishing service workstations to protect the rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises, and providing policy consultation and rights protection services. At the same time, the district has stepped up efforts to attract new key foreign-invested projects and accelerate their early launch and operation.

Participants at the seminar reviewed their achievements in 2025 and shared their goals and concerns for 2026.

Ruan Wenzhong, chief project manager of MTR Technology Consulting (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., said the company has participated in several major infrastructure projects, including Phase III of Shenzhen Metro Line 4, the public-private partnership project of Shenzhen Metro Line 13, and the renovation of Guanlan Avenue.

Teng Baojian, president of Hexagon Group’s South China operations, noted that the company achieved revenue of 336 million yuan in Shenzhen in 2025 and generated nearly 40 million yuan in taxes and profits. Once completed, Hexagon’s South China Industrial Park is expected to generate an output value exceeding 10 billion yuan over the next five years. The group announced the establishment of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Longhua at the 2022 Shenzhen Global Investment Promotion Conference.

A computer-generated image of Hexagon’s South China Industrial.

Gao Guangyu, commercial director of City Football Group China, said the group will use football as a bridge to connect more closely with Shenzhen’s leading industries and corporate resources, helping more Longhua-based enterprises reach the global stage.

Founded in 2017, Shenzhen Peng City Football Club joined the City Football Group family in 2019 as its seventh club and is currently the only Chinese Super League team in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). In September, the Longhua District Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement with the group to jointly expand global outreach and promote the professional development of youth football in the district.