File photo shows a view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai.Photo:Xinhua

 

Shanghai issued certificates to 30 new regional headquarters and 10 research and development centers of multinational companies on Wednesday, according to a report by local online news outlet Yicai on Wednesday. The trend reflects Shanghai's official gesture to support overseas companies during times of difficulties, and is a testimony of the appeal of the city to overseas investors. 

Among those enterprises are Dyson Trade (Shanghai) Co, a subsidiary of global vacuum cleaner and hair dryer maker Dyson, and Toshiba Elevator China Co. The mayor of Shanghai, Gong Zheng, issued the certificates. 

An executive of Dyson Trade (Shanghai) Co spoke at the certificating ceremony, saying that Dyson's Shanghai stores are gradually resuming business. He also disclosed that the company's long-term commitment of investing in China will not change and it is planning to pour another 100 million pounds ($121 million) in China in the next two years, the Shanghai Huangpu district government announced on its official WeChat account.

Of the companies that received the certificates on Wednesday, about 57 percent are in the manufacturing sector, while 42.5 percent are from service industry. Most  companies are aligned with key development industries, such as intelligent manufacturing, biotechnology, car manufacturing and retail.

The recent wave of coronavirus in Shanghai and the ensuing closed-loop management have caused production to be suspended for some time in many businesses, including foreign companies. However, Shanghai's appeal to global businesses and entrepreneurs remains unchanged, not only because of the city's advantages in talent resources and its leading role in Yangtze River Delta, but also because of the government's continuous rollout of policies to attract overseas investment.

Among the 33 measures recently rolled out by China's State Council to stabilize the economy, attracting overseas investment is an important part. The government noted it will ramp the investment catalogue for direct overseas capital to industries like advanced manufacturing, as well as support overseas entrepreneurs to invest and establish high-tech research centers in China. 

The Shanghai municipal government has also held around a dozen roundtable meetings since June 1 to listen to the demands of companies, respond to their concerns and stabilize their prospects of overseas development and confidence in Shanghai, Yicai reported. 

A total of 848 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 512 foreign-funded research and development centers have been settled in Shanghai by the end of May, Yicai reported. 

Global Times