Shanghai makes it easier to set up company HQs

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SHANGHAI is soon to release details of a new rule to encourage multinational companies to set up their regional headquarters in the city, Vice Mayor Ai Baojun said yesterday.

The rule will focus on improving the investment environment by making it more convenient for investors, and on lowering costs by providing rewards for newly established headquarters and those MNCs who upgrade their existing China headquarters to a higher level, such as Asia or Asia-Pacific.

Ai did not reveal the size of the planned rewards.

"Shanghai government will try all out to facilitate the growth of MNCs in the city, as foreign investment remains an important force to power ahead the city's development in technology, management and innovation," Ai said.

Last December, the Shanghai Commission of Commerce published a document outlining the city's target of attracting at least US$10 billion foreign direct investment each year by 2015.

The commission will provide more details this time, Ai said.

The vice mayor made the remarks during the presentation of certificates for 40 foreign companies that recently located their regional headquarters in Shanghai.

They included Kimberly (China) Co Ltd, Kubota China Holdings Co Ltd, Bayer Material Science (Shanghai) Management Co Ltd and Bostik (Shanghai) Management Co Ltd.

"We chose Shanghai because nearly all our factories are nearby, and the city is a classic choice for MNCs," said Wei Jie, director and president of Kubota China Holdings Co Ltd.

Kubota is Japan's largest agricultural machinery manufacturer.

By the end of June, 380 MNCs had set up regional headquarters in Shanghai, and another 348 had established research and development centers.

In the first half, foreign direct investment in Shanghai rose 22.6 percent from a year earlier, raising physically allocated investment to US$7.37 billion.

Contracted foreign direct investment expanded 15.8 percent to US$11.2 billion, during which 1,681 new foreign-funded projects were approved.

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