Futian claimed the top spot on the national investment competitiveness list of top 100 areas in China in 2023, according to a report issued November 6 by CCID Consulting, a firm affiliated with a think tank under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Three other Shenzhen districts, namely Nanshan, Baoan, and Longgang, also muscled into the top 10, according to the report.

CCID Consulting said it adopted a comprehensive system consisting of six primary indicators and 20 secondary indicators, including administrative services, opening-up, infrastructure, industrial vitality, talent attraction and essential resources support in its evaluation.

The report covers more than 900 municipal districts nationwide, excluding central government directly-controlled municipalities and the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

After consecutively ranking second nationwide in 2021 and 2022, Futian beat out Tianhe District in Guangzhou this year to secure the top spot, demonstrating the resilience of high-quality development in the central urban area of Shenzhen.

The "eight most" factors — highest economic density, densest financial institutions, most concentrated headquarters of enterprises, densest metro network, most concentrated medical resources, most concentrated educational resources, most concentrated commercial facilities, and most concentrated park and green spaces — serve as the most significant reasons for enterprises to choose Futian.

At the 2023 Futian High-Quality Development Investment Promotion Conference held  November 28, Futian announced its major achievements in investment attraction for 2023. As of that day, Futian had already signed and secured 86 high-quality projects, with a cumulative intended investment of 130.6 billion yuan. Among these, more than 150 Fortune Global 500 companies have chosen to settle in Futian, ranking the district first in the city.

The total actual utilized foreign investment reached US$2.51 billion, with the district adding 1,529 newly registered foreign-invested enterprises, both ranking first in the city.

Data indicate that Futian currently has 893 industrial buildings and nearly 30 million square meters of industrial facilities. In the future, Futian is expected to unlock an additional 7 million square meters of new industrial facilities.

Futian is also accelerating the construction of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, the new finance center in Xiangmihu, and the central park vitality circle, while fast-tracking the renewal of areas such as Huaqiangbei, Chegongmiao, and Bagualing. The central urban area holds even greater investment potential and industrial facilities.

Located in the central urban area of Shenzhen and with an area of 78.66 kilometer meters and a population of about 2.2 million, Futian is the administrative, cultural, financial, business and international communication center of Shenzhen.

In recent years, Futian has consistently ranked at the forefront of China's districts and counties. By 2022, the regional gross domestic product of the district topped 550 billion yuan.

Futian, which has long been the financial powerhouse of Shenzhen with its large number of financial institutions such as brokerages, fund management houses and insurance firms, has in recent years highlighted three industries of science and technology, finance and fashion as its growth drivers.