On the morning of March 31st, deputy mayor Mr. Fang Guoqiang met with the business delegation headed by Mr. Guenter Von Au, vice chairman of the board of director of Clariant, Mr. Arne Schulle, chief executive of Baerlocher Group, and Mr. Luis Lopez Remon, president of the business division of Lanxess Energizing Chemistry in the administration center.

In recent years, a increasing number of European and American enterprises have invested in Changzhou. Up to now, 61 of the Fortune 500 companies have set up branches in Changzhou.

Clariant, headquartered in Switzerland, is a global leader in specialty chemicals, which has 110 subsidiary companies worldwide. Baerlocher Group, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is the world’s leading supplier of plastics additives. Baerlocher Plastics Additives (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. is located in Changzhou National High-Tech District (CND), with a total investment of USD$25.4 million. Lanxess Energizing Chemistry is a global leader of special chemical products, doing business in 29 countries. Lanxess has invested three projects in Binjiang Development Zone, CND, with a total investment of USD$390 million.

The delegation visited the CND on the same day.