OREANDA-NEWS. Anhui province is expected to get the green light from the State Council to set up a bonded zone in its capital Hefei in late 2013, local authorities said.

The move is the province's latest bid to expand and strengthen its export-oriented economy.

The zone is designed to consist of two sub-zones: the Hefei Export Processing Zone and the Hefei Xinzhan District, with a total area of 4.91 square kilometers.

The Hefei Export Processing Zone, opening last August, joined the Wuhu Export Processing Zone, the province's first customs surveillance area, in contributing to merely 1.6 percent of the province's foreign trade last year, statistics showed.

In a bid to promote the opening-up of the inland province, the Hefei Customs filed an application to the central government, aiming to level up the export processing zone to a bonded area, said Xiao Li, its deputy chief.

Actual foreign direct investment (FDI) in Anhui reached USD  8.64 billion in 2012, up 30.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the customs.

Meanwhile, the province was home to 5,012 firms engaged in foreign trade, ranking first among six provinces in Central China.

Out of them, ten more companies reported imports and exports hit a minimum of USD  100 million, while 500 saw an increase of some USD  1 million in foreign trade. In addition, 1,540 were founded that year.

Those export-oriented companies could have performed better if there had been a bonded area, where favorable policies and efficient services are available, the official said.