Putting Yantai on the Map

Michel Humbert brings energy, innovation and investment to Yantai

by Ali Ali

Despite being well known is certain circles for the legend of the Eight Immortals, who in Chinese mythology set across the high seas in order to attend a celestial conference, Yantai still remains an undiscovered gem to most foreign travelers.

One foreigner has now made it his mission to put Yantai on the global map by heading up the Yantai Investment Development Board, one of the most talked about success stories in China.

Michel Humbert, 76, is the senior advisor of the Yantai Investment Development Board, based in the city's scenic Laishan District. Originally hailing from Lyon, France, Humbert is certainly no stranger to Asia.

"Having been working and living in Yantai for 11 years now, I had previously worked in many of the major cities in Asia, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore and Tokyo. I have been working and living in Asia now for the last 25 years and become quite familiar with the area," he said.

Having worked for two transnational companies, he retired at the age of 65 and was snapped up by the Shandong Provincial Government. His brief was to attract new investors and businesses to set up operations in Yantai, now the second largest city in the province.

At present, there are more than 70 world top 500 companies and multinational companies investing in Yantai. These include: LG, Hyundai, SK and Daewoo from Korea; Mitsubishi, Itochu, Toyota, Honda, Denso and Idemitsu from Japan; GM, CSX World Terminal and Timken from the United States; GB, and Henkel from Germany; Total Group from France; and Foxconn from Taiwan.

"Every time I talk with foreigners, they always ask me about hospitals, international schools, transport, price of housing and the cost of living. All of these things are exceptional here in Yantai. The only shortcoming is that people need to easily discover Yantai. You cannot imagine all the effort that we have made for this kind of recognition. No foreigners are unhappy here, they extend their businesses and that is an achievement."

His colleagues have also taken note of his passion of the city and Chinese culture.

"Having lived in Yantai for 11 years, I think that Michel Humbert has totally immersed himself in Chinese culture and he is well known in Yantai," said Darcy Zhao, the senior advisor's special collaborator at the Yantai Investment Development Board.

Humbert said it is an ongoing effort to compete with well-known cities like Qingdao and Dalian for investment, but he thrives on the challenge.

Having been made an honorary citizen of both Yantai and Shandong due to his achievements in boosting the city's profile, his other achievements include starting the Yantai Westerners Investors Association in 2005, which he created with 10 other investors with the aim to build connections between the almost 700 foreigners that now live in the city.

He is also the proud founder of the Yantai French-speaking Circle, which includes both Chinese and Western practitioners of the language, and has a membership of 1,960 across the globe.

Despite many crowning achievements over the years, which include being personally addressed by several high-profile members of China's Central Government and the former President of France, Jacques Chirac, it seems that Humbert is still not fazed by the sheer amount of work that he has put into developing Yantai as China's newest economic hub.

"I love to work. In fact, because I love what I do, I do not classify this as work, but as pleasure. All my life I have never been working and I have been doing what I love. It's not an obligation. It is just natural," he said.