Shanghai strengthens role as beacon of global investment

Growing number of companies drawn to city's favorable business environment

Businesses in China have been positioning themselves for growth in the years to come after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Shanghai, known for its constant commitment in optimizing business environment, remains one of the most popular investment destinations among global investors.

In the first three months of this year, 353 major projects valued at 225.4 billion yuan ($32.73 billion), each with a more than 100 million yuan investment, were inked to land in Shanghai. Another 168 potential projects with a value of 327 billion yuan were also identified, according to Liu Ping, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, who attended the annual Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference, or SGIPC, on April 6.

First held in 2021, the SGIPC is part of Shanghai's efforts to communicate with global investors, display its economic achievements and build itself into a magnet for global investment. This year, government officials including Party secretary of Shanghai Chen Jining and Mayor of Shanghai Gong Zheng, participated in the event.

According to Liu, almost all the projects are set to accelerate the quality development of Shanghai and focus on cultivating the city's three new leading industries — integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence; as well as its four "new track" industries — digital economy, low-carbon, metaverse and smart devices.

Why here?

During the 2023 SGIPC, representatives from 26 of the 353 projects, incorporating areas such as life science, healthcare, automobiles and high-end equipment, signed project contracts and exchanged their views on development in Shanghai.

According to businesses, the combination of a robust business environment, a highly skilled workforce, a solid industrial development foundation, complete industrial chains, a diversified economy and a favorable regulatory climate, is the key to lure them to and retain them in Shanghai. Moreover, the city also receives praise from global investors for significant investments in infrastructure, innovation, modern transportation systems, close linkage with cities in the Yangtze River Delta region and a thriving start-up scene.

"Shanghai is home to numerous senior research and development talents in the industrial software field, and boasts a large number of high-end equipment manufacturing companies. Companies like New Dimension Systems, which has commanded core technologies, will enjoy more market opportunities and a complete industrial chain," said Ye Xiuzi, chairman of New Dimension Systems. New Dimension is a privately owned computer-aided design, or CAD, software developer. It signed to settle its headquarters in Minhang district to facilitate its new product development and market expansion. The total investment is estimated at 2.5 billion yuan.

According to Ye, the company has independently developed a new product named Tiangong CAD, which could fill the gaps between Chinese and foreign-branded products. The company is set to be a benchmark enterprise in the CAD software development industry in China to support the quality development of the county.

"Governments at all levels provided us with full-process services to help us land in Minhang district. They provided us with strategies so we can grow stronger and contribute to the overall industrial development of Shanghai, making our work, investment, and operation worry-free," Ye said. "We increasingly feel that we made the right choice in selecting Shanghai!"

Chen Rui, chairman and CEO of Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform popular among young people, gave the thumbs-up to the expanding internet talent pool of Shanghai.

Chen said that Bilibili faced a talent shortage when established in 2009, and had to recruit internet professionals from cities like Beijing and Shenzhen. Now, due to the continuous input of the Shanghai government, the city has emerged as a hub for the internet industry, attracting highly skilled professionals from around the world who show a strong interest in working in the city.

"We can find ample talent for any position in Shanghai," Chen said.

Haleon, a company 100 percent focusing on consumer health, which spun off from healthcare giant GSK in July, praises the premium government services of Shanghai.

"The all-around support we received in Shanghai and the local government's rapid response, passion and creative working spirit impressed us and served as a great support for our development," said Gu Haiying, senior vice-president and general manager for the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong operations of Haleon.

A thriving land

In 2022, despite the pandemic, Shanghai recorded a GDP of more than 4.47 trillion yuan. The city inked 1,375 major investment projects, each with a value of more than 100 million yuan, with a total value exceeding 1.2 trillion yuan. The city reported 4.19 trillion yuan in imports and exports, up 3.2 percent year-on-year. Its paid-in foreign direct investment amounted to $23.96 billion, the third year in a row it surpassed $20 billion. A slew of measures aimed at boosting the economy and supporting the construction of a modern industrial system in Shanghai, such as green development, healthcare and smart energy, were also released.

This year, to further enhance the city's appeal to investors, the Shanghai government will keep implementing policies and action plans to ease market access and increase support for innovation and entrepreneurship.

During the SGIPC on April 6, Shanghai announced 24 new investment promotion policies, including a slew of incentive plans to strengthen the confidence of global investors and attract big projects to the region. For instance, headquarters projects may get a subsidy up to 10 million yuan for property buying or leasing and major investment projects can receive an award of up to 100 million yuan. Discount loans and financing leasing subsidies will also be provided to businesses which plan to expand production capacity.

Those policies will also benefit emerging industries such as integrated circuits, robots, new energy vehicles, digitalization, green development and healthcare.

Shanghai, set to be a global innovation hub, has been promoting research results commercialization. During the 2023 SGIPC, 10 scientists from home and abroad signed contracts with 10 local companies and research institutions to accelerate the transformation of innovation achievements.

For example, academician Duan Baoyan partnered with Shanghai Hollywave Electronic System, an industrial software developer headquartered in the Zhangjiang Science City of Shanghai, to enhance its innovation capacity. Academician Li Jun joined hands with the Shanghai International Auto City to strengthen partnerships in fields such as smart cities, intelligent automobiles, intelligent transportation and smart energy.

The partnership will improve the efficiency of intelligent transportation and promote the innovation and development of the intelligent automobile industry in response to Shanghai's plans to accelerate technological innovation in fields such as fuel cells, industrial software, and intelligent transportation.

Shanghai, seeing an influx of global companies since its reform and opening-up, will further open its market and invite more global businesses to share its growth opportunities. During the 2023 SGIPC, Shanghai released the third list of Shanghai Global Investment Partners. Ten international organizations and corporations, including United States-based Tishman Speyer Properties, Sino Biopharmaceutical and London-based real estate service provider Savills are on the list. Those companies will serve as think tanks to help Shanghai attract premium investment projects and talents, support research results commercialization and industrial development.

In 2021 and 2022, a total of 20 companies partnered with Shanghai to support the investment promotion of the city and attracted more than 40 projects valued at more than 50 billion yuan to the city.

Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, said during the SGIPC that Shanghai welcomes enterprises and talent to settle down and invest. The city will continue to fully exert its strengths in global resources allocation, business environment, technology and talent as well as modern urban governance.

tangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn