PM Lee (L) and Zhejiang Party Secretary Zhao HongZhu

Hangzhou has been drawing more investors and a new integrated business park is being developed to cater to the growing number of businesses setting up operations there.

It was opened on Friday by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who also took the opportunity to visit the premises of a big Chinese Internet name, Alibaba.

The Singapore-Hangzhou Science and Technology Park is the first integrated park development in Zhejiang province. Costing about US$484 million, it is located at the heart of the Hangzhou Economic Development Area.

Phase 1 of the project will be completed next month. The park includes firms in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), IT outsourcing and the creative industries. Future phases will also include retail, convention spaces and service apartments when all 43 hectares are completed. The park will cater up to 50,000 professionals in areas such as BPO, IT and R&D.

Singapore companies have been growing their investments in second tier mainland Chinese cities like Hangzhou.

Last year, bilateral trade between Singapore and Hangzhou reached US$611 million. Hangzhou is also attractive because some of the biggest Chinese companies can be found here.

PM Lee was given a tour of Alibaba Group, a family of Internet-based businesses which provides B2B e-commerce trade, retail, payment, business management software and classified listings.

Alibaba said Singapore is an important part of its growth plans. David Wei, CEO, Alibaba.com, said: “Alibaba.com investment hub for our global investment is based in Singapore as well as our marketing hub and sales hub.”

Last year, alibaba.com made the second largest IPO sale of an Internet company after Google, raising US$1.5 billion.