Shanghai FTZ attracts $127.1 billion of contractual foreign investment

Since the Shanghai pilot free trade zone was listed, a large number of foreign businessmen have come. The reporter learned that at present, the contract foreign investment attracted by Shanghai free trade zone has reached US $127.104 billion, and the actual foreign investment has also increased from US $22.133 billion last year to US $31.816 billion this year. More than 98% of these projects are established through filing. Lingang is the latest hot spot to enter the territory of Shanghai free trade zone. From 2005 to the end of November this year, a total of 1018 new foreign-invested enterprises have been added to the port, attracting about 3.6 billion US dollars of contractual foreign investment, accumulating more than 1.4 billion US dollars of foreign investment, and introducing a number of internationally renowned enterprises such as Tesla, Siemens, caterpillar, dailymer Benz, YKK, etc. From January to November this year, 117 new foreign-invested enterprises were added to the port, with a contractual foreign investment of 480 million US dollars.

It is worth noting that since the announcement of the general plan for the new zone near the port of Shanghai Free Trade Zone on August 6 this year, the establishment of foreign-funded enterprises has increased significantly. From September to November, the new area near Hong Kong attracted 49 foreign-funded enterprises, accounting for 41.9% of the number of new enterprises in the first 11 months. Tesla is the largest foreign-funded manufacturing project ever invested in Shanghai and the first wholly foreign-owned overseas vehicle enterprise project in China. From negotiation to land acquisition, from approval to commencement, Tesla project has created a new speed for the implementation of manufacturing projects in Shanghai and even in China. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, praised this "amazing speed in Shanghai" and exclaimed that "it benefits from Shanghai's good business environment, and also reflects the city's determination and action to open to the outside world". After the release of the negative list of foreign investment in 2018, in 38 open fields, such as wholly foreign-owned hospitals, certification institutions and vocational skills training, Shanghai Free Trade Zone ushered in the implementation of the national first project.

Since this year, the Shanghai free trade zone has made another breakthrough in expanding new areas of opening up, and continues to promote the implementation of the first project of 54 measures to expand opening up in the free trade zone, as well as zero breakthrough in new areas of opening up in the new negative list. By the end of October this year, 33 of the 54 measures to expand opening-up had been implemented, with 3131 enterprises in total. Since this year, the service industry of Shanghai free trade zone has been expanding its opening and agglomeration effect. In the areas of value-added telecommunications, performance brokerage, travel agency, engineering design, vocational training, ship management, talent agency, etc., the agglomeration effect is further expanded from point to area. Among the 314 newly established service enterprises this year, there are 35 engineering design enterprises, 2 travel service enterprises, 5 performance agencies, 1 international ship management, 6 talent agencies, 6 value-added telecommunication enterprises, 2 international ship agents, 1 entertainment place operation, 1 vocational skill training, etc. Since the opening of shipping service industry in Shanghai free trade zone and the establishment of international ship management enterprises solely owned by foreign investors, a number of world-class shipping service institutions have been settled in Shanghai Free Trade Zone, and the field of foreign international ship management has gathered and developed in Shanghai free trade zone.

With the opportunity of deepening the reform and opening up of Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the international ship agency business has gradually increased its opening up. For the first time, the negative list of foreign investment in 2018 cancelled the share ratio restriction on foreign investment in international ship agency business. Recently, the first wholly foreign-owned international shipping agency company, weibent (Shanghai) International Shipping Agency Co., Ltd., emerged as the times require, adding another bright spot for the expansion and opening of the shipping service industry in Shanghai free trade zone. Waypoint port services, the investor of the company, is a professional ship service company with port service agency rights in Singapore, Indonesia, Panama, Brazil, Switzerland, Hong Kong and other countries and regions. The 2019 negative list of foreign investment released by the national development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce has further removed the restrictions on the Chinese holding of domestic ship agents in the field of shipping services, which will be conducive to attracting more internationally renowned ship agents to settle in Pudong. Relevant principals of Shanghai Free Trade Zone said that they will actively connect with the construction of Shanghai international shipping center, give full play to the agglomeration effect of shipping industry, improve the function of shipping service system, and continuously promote the upgrading and development of Shanghai international shipping center.