Fujifilm snaps up opportunities

Suzhou New District in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, with policies evolving over time and a business-friendly environment, has helped a handful of Japanese-funded companies thrive in China.

One beneficiary in the district-Fujifilm Imaging Systems (Suzhou)－has witnessed firsthand the different stages of the development of SND since its foundation in 1995, and as a result, extended its business scope thanks to the local government's favorable policies.

The annual output value of Fujifilm Suzhou has been more than 3 billion yuan ($456 million) for three consecutive years.

When Ji Ruikang, current director of Fujifilm Suzhou, was transferred from the headquarters in Japan to Suzhou in 2001, he was determined to develop the digital camera business and benefit from the solid development of the district.

Ji said at that time Fujifilm could only produce 50,000 to 60,000 digital cameras a year. But in 2006, this figure exceeded 4.5 million and in just a few years, Fujifilm occupies 30 percent of the global market share in digital cameras, reinforcing its leading position in the world.

In May 2019, Fujifilm released the GFX 100, which is equipped with the world's highest resolution sensor, at 102-million pixels.

"All disposable cameras in the world are also made by Fujifilm. Because of high technical standards and high research and development costs, our technology is both the best in the world and the only in the world," Ji added.

Fujifilm brought its medical device business division to the district in 2010. "Our team spent a year choosing the site and couldn't find a good one. But after learning about Suzhou New District by chance, we immediately decided to settle there," Ji said.

The company's annual output value for its medical device business has reached 500 million yuan.

"Medical devices and medical bioengineering have very broad and long-term prospects in China. We are now working to answer Suzhou and the district's call to build a world-class biomedical industry landmark," Ji said.

"We recently acquired the diagnostic imaging equipment business of Hitachi Medical, a well-known medical device company in Japan. Next we will introduce intelligent diagnostic software to China's medical system, thus providing high-quality healthcare services for ordinary people."

Fujifilm Suzhou has also made great progress in localization. To date, 95 percent of the company's digital camera components are purchased from Suzhou and surrounding areas. Of its 2,645 employees in the company, only eight are Japanese.

"Enterprises' transformation is spurred by the district's good business environment. The government officials responsible for investment promotion are proficient in Japanese and keep us updated about the latest tax reduction policy and incentives," Ji added. "They visited us last week to learn about our latest production."

The district has built Japanese schools and introduced Japanese-funded banks, shopping malls, clinics and restaurants to create a favorable business and living environment for the some 4,000 Japanese residents in the area.

According to local officials, high-level Japanese-funded companies are welcome to form an industrial cluster in the district and the district will put in more effort to promote Sino-Japanese cooperation in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection.

yinruowei@chinadaily.com.cn