Japan's Orix, spurred by Davos, sites HQ in Dalian

The China headquarters of Japan's Orix Corporation is not in Beijing or Shanghai but in Dalian, a coastal city in China's northeastern Liaoning province.

"It was the Summer Davos that promoted the cooperation," said Lawrence Lin, managing director of Orix (China) Investment Co Ltd.

On the basis of effective communications among decision makers, Orix Corp, which boasts more than 2,000 outlets in 36 countries and regions around the world, set up its China branch in the province in December 2009.

"We see great opportunity in China's rapid development," Lin commented.

Other reasons Orix chose the city were the trustworthiness of its officials, Dalian's stable development, as well as the similar geological environment and cultural background.

Soon after its establishment, Orix China became the first institutional investor in Dalian Haichang Group. It is helping introduce capital, both from home and abroad, to boost Haichang's push for nationwide expansion.

Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Ltd was listed in Hong Kong in 2013 and became China's biggest ocean park operator and one of the top 10 in the world.

The 2017 Summer Davos, or the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, is being held from June 27 to 29 in Dalian.

Taking advantage of the event, Dalian, which has alternately hosted the event with Tianjin since 2007, has attracted more foreign investment.

"It opens a window for the world to know Dalian and vice versa," said Li Heming, an official with Dalian Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau.

During the 2017 Summer Davos, Dalian signed contracts with 25 companies from home and abroad. The investment of 17 foreign projects totaled $2.16 billion and the investment of eight domestic-funded projects reached 14.2 billion yuan ($2.09).

During the 2015 Summer Davos, Dalian signed cooperative agreements with some corporate participants in the forum. The total investments of all the 13 projects totaled $8.14 billion.

By now, two third of the projects have been successfully implemented, including those initiated by Goodyear, Pfizer and Orix, Li said.

More than 1,500 politicians, officials, entrepreneurs, scholars, and media representatives from over 90 countries and regions are attending the annual meeting.

"It is a big chance for Dalian to obtain true international exposure and show our investment opportunities," she said.

Dalian is the most concentrated area of foreign trade and foreign investments in northeastern China.

Statistics from the Dalian Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau show that currently investors from more than 80 countries and regions have set up 18,600 companies with accumulated foreign capital of over $100 billion in Dalian.