Social philanthropy
An enterprise cannot develop without community support, China Overseas Land and Investment gives back to the communities in which it operates, participates in the development of community building, and to foster a harmonious community with sustainable development through a wide range of community activities. As for community development, the Company is leveraging its expertise as a property developer and participate in affordable housing projects. COLI continues to extend its contribution to the building of China Overseas Hope Schools in Mainland China as well as to strengthen its long-term partnerships with non-profit organisations through involvement in fundraising, and community and education events in order to continue giving back to society.
Targeted Poverty Alleviation
“Sea of Hope” Targeted Poverty Alleviation Project -“Xiurong Millet” from Lan County of Shanxi Province
Shanxi millet, nutritious and tasty, has long been well-known among consumers. By virtue of its unique geography, Lan County of Shanxi Province, where more than 10% of the residents live under the poverty line, boasts great natural conditions for the production of millet.
Generally, what the rural farmers need the most is market development support. To give full play to Lan County’s industry advantages, this year we worked with local government leaders and rural cooperatives to help local farmers build the brand “Xiurong Millet”. Our team helped handle everything from millet sourcing and processing outsourcing, to quality inspection and marketing, and successfully built up an entire industry chain, thus promoting the millet products to the entire country.
We purchased more than 310,000 catties of “Xiurong Millet” at a price higher than the market price, which is equivalent to the annual output of the villages receiving help. We designed a packaging with local characteristics for the millet, and purchased the first batch of products, some of which were given to customers as gifts in marketing and customer service activities such as “Walking into COLI’s Communities”, “Door-Knocking Program”, Customer Service Day. Moreover, we organized special promotion activities for the millet in offices, residential communities, commercial projects and campus job fairs in many cities across the country to evoke discussions, attention and support for poverty alleviation from all walks of life.
Construction of Affordable Housing
In 2018, the affordable housing projects undertaken by COLI in Jinan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Harbin, Urumchi and other cities were completed successively, representing a total GFA of 1.94 million sq m. During the year, we started construction for 1.49 million sq m of new affordable housing projects. We hope to continue to enhance the efficiency of affordable housing construction and improve urban living conditions.
Donations to Hope Schools
Education is an important infrastructure of society. Since 2005, we have been playing an active role in the Group’s Hope School Donation Program. We donate to the China Overseas Charity Fund set up by the Group and leverage our professional strengths to participate in the planning and construction of Hope Schools, so as to improve the teaching standards in local communities and provide an equal, safe and pleasant learning environment for children.
The China Overseas Jiangkou Hope Primary School which was completed this year can serve as an example. With an area of over 20,000 sq m, the school is equipped with computer rooms, dance studios, laboratories, psychological counseling rooms and other functional classrooms to support the all-round development of students. By the end of 2018, we have invested in building 14 Chinese Overseas Hope Primary Schools in Shaanxi, Jilin, Chongqing, Sichuan, Liaoning, Shandong, Ningxia, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi, etc.