HAIKOU -- South China's Hainan province will make continuous efforts to optimize the business environment in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone in a bid to facilitate the construction of the Hainan free trade zone and free trade port with Chinese characteristics.

The process of applying for starting businesses in Yangpu will be shortened to one and a half workdays, according to a press conference held on Monday.

Service windows for foreigners will be opened to provide better services for those who need residence and employment permits as well as foreign experts certificates, said Ren Yanxin, vice director of the management committee of the Yangpu zone.

Favorable measures will also be taken in areas such as investment, construction projects, administrative approvals and financial support for small and micro-sized firms.

At the press conference, the working and management committees of the Yangpu Economic Development Zone unveiled a package of 40 measures in four fields, namely optimizing the business environment, promoting development of the advanced manufacturing industry, improving customs clearance efficiency and introducing talent, as the latest moves to prepare for the construction of Hainan free trade port.

According to the press conference, enterprises of advanced manufacturing such as aerospace equipment, new energy vehicles, integrated circuits and high-end medical equipment will enjoy preferential policies when settling in the zone.

Yangpu will support the enterprises in aspects including finance and taxation and investment in fixed assets, land, logistics and foreign trade.

The move is aimed to help enterprises enjoy the dividend brought by the free trade port in advance, reduce their operating costs and strengthen their international competitiveness.

Yangpu has acted on the understanding that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, which is beneficial to developing an advanced manufacturing industry, said Zhang Jin, also vice director of the Yangpu management committee.

As a state-level development zone established in 1992 in the northwest of Hainan, the Yangpu Economic Development Zone is expected to develop into a growth point of Hainan's high-quality development and a pilot zone of Hainan free trade port.