SHIHAB RATTANSI, CNN ANCHOR: Recent economic growth in China has transformed the livelihoods and surroundings for many people; this is most evident in Shanghai's Pudong area, where a tax reduction and government loan incentives are driving this once small fishing village into one of Shanghai's most prosperous areas. Singapore's Channel NewsAsia has the story.</s>SUM JUNE-WEN, CHANNEL NEWSASIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Think of Shanghai and you think the 19th century buildings, but turn around, and on the other side of the river, it's very much the 21st century. The skyscrapers here didn't exist ten years ago; neither did the whole area of Pudong, literally, "east of the Hangpu River."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the last ten years, we have been laying a foundation for growth. In the coming decade, I think Shanghai's entire economy will undergo a change.</s>JUNE-WEI: Pudong is about 500 square kilometers large, or about the size of Singapore. So far, four economic zones have been developed with all the infrastructure that big business needs. For example, U.S. automaker GM chose to invest in a manufacturing zone known as Jinqiao. Overall investment in Pudong stands at 29 billion U.S. dollars; just under half of that is foreign capital.</s>QIAN YI FENG, JINQIAO EXPORT ZONE: An important aspect of our job is to continue to attract foreign investment; we should build on the experience of amenities or</s>JUNE-WEI: Jinqiao wants to bring in more high-tech manufacturing for a Pudong's</s>JUNE-WEI (on camera): It's hard to imagine ten years ago, what stands behind me now was just a fishing village and inside the vast new area, all the new factories and homes stand on what were once paddy fields. Now, Pudong attracts investments into economic zones, which have been specially tailored to various industries. Sun June-Wei, Channel NewsAsia, Shanghai.
Economic Growth Transforming Shanghai Region