To boost investment during the novel coronavirus epidemic, Harbin -- capital city of China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province -- has initiated a form of online investment matchmaking activities, according to local officials.
 
They said that since the implementation of the online investment promotion over a one-month period, 32 investment projects were now undergoing online negotiations and six projects were planning to sign agreements.
 
According to the Harbin municipal enterprise and investment service bureau, expressions of interest for a total of 207 investment project clues were registered in the first quarter, with a total planned investment of 154.58 billion yuan ($21.79 billion).
 
In the first three months of 2020, some 46 projects, each with an investment over 10 million yuan from cities outside Heilongjiang province were signed, involving 137.60 billion yuan.
 
Of these, 18 projects received an investment of more than 1 billion yuan, and five projects -- such as the Shenzhen-Harbin Financial Technology City, Vanke Sino-Russian Industrial Park and the Evergrande Eco-Future City -- each received an investment of more than 10 billion yuan.
 
In the first quarter, Harbin directly attracted foreign direct investment of $68.10 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.87 percent. Officials said in that period it completed 19.46 percent of its annual target.
 
Direct investment from provinces and cities from Heilongjiang reached 2.37 billion yuan, completing 8.1 percent of the annual target.