Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, January 26(Reporters Yao Yujie, Zhou Rui) Despite the continuous impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Shanghai is still one of the first places for multinational companies to deploy industrial chains and innovation chains. In 2021, Shanghai will achieve double digit growth in the number of actual foreign investment, contracted foreign investment, and newly established foreign invested enterprises, hitting a record high.

Firmly choose Shanghai and be firm in China behind the "voting with your feet" of foreign capital is China's huge market potential, a better business environment, and Shanghai's embrace of openness.

The "preferred destination for foreign investment" continues to grow at a high level

The data shows that in 2021, the main indicators of foreign capital utilization in Shanghai will all show double digit growth: the actual amount of foreign capital will reach 22.551 billion US dollars, a year on year increase of 11.5%, a new record high; 6,708 new foreign funded enterprises will be established, a year on year increase of 16.6%; The contracted foreign capital was US$60.391 billion, a year on year increase of16.9%.

It is worth noting that this was achieved on the basis of a strong growth of 6.2% in actual use of foreign capital against the trend in 2020, breaking through the high base of 20 billion US dollars.

The huge potential and ever changing Chinese market is the biggest attraction for foreign investment. Recently, the Lego Group, which smelled the opportunity through the "Expo window", announced the expansion of its factory in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, and the factory area will increase by 42,000 square meters. In Shanghai's Pudong New Area, ABB's new factory with an investment of US$150 million will be put into operation in the first quarter of this year. This "factory of the future" covering an area of 67,000 square meters will realize "robots with robots" in Shanghai.

The CIIE is a "trump card" for Shanghai to attract foreign investment. On a one year basis, the cumulative intentional turnover of the fourth CIIE was US$70.72 billion, and more than 30companies including Kose, Mitsubishi, and Amazon signed contracts to participate in the fifth CIIE in advance. Through the platform of the CIIE, we have changed from a "hidden champion" to a brand that many Chinese residents know well, and our sales in the Chinese market have continued to grow. "Lao Na, general manager of Spain's Nicolas Correa Group (Asia), who will be participating in the CIIE for the fifth time, said.

Seize the "leader" and up gradethe headquarters economy

Shanghai also maintains its status as the city with the highest concentration of regional headquarters of multinational companies in mainland China.

In 2021, Shanghai will add 60 regional headquarters of multinational companies, bringing the total to 831; and add 25 foreign funded R&D centers, bringing the total to 506.

After 17 years in China, German company EDAG has set up its Asian headquarters in Shanghai's Hongqiao International Central Business District. Wu Wen wen, CEO of Edac China, said that Edac China has become the second largest subsidiary of Edac Group in the world outside of Germany. The Chinese market will be the focus of the company's development in the next 10 years, and will increase its presence in Asia, especially in Asia. China's input and output.

Zeng Xiwen, global vice president of Unilever, who has both the North Asia headquarters and the global R&D center in Hongqiao Business District, said that China is a key market in Unilever's global strategy. The economic and trade ties between China and the Yangtze River Delta are closer. Shortly after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, Unilever announced that it would invest 100 million euros to build a food production base in Taicang, Jiangsu. Recently, this ice cream" light house factory", which integrates intelligence, digitization and flexibility, was officially put into production. "This investment shows Unilever's constant optimism on the Chinese market."

"It is of great significance to grasp the 'leader' of foreign investment." Sheng Hong yan, director of the Foreign Investment Promotion Division of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said that the regional headquarters of multinational companies often have investment, operation management, sales, research and development, capital management, human resources management and other various aspects. It has a strong demonstration and driving effect, and is of great significance to the sustained and stable economic growth and high quality development of Shanghai and even the whole country.

Putting Openness "Into the Genes"

Openness, innovation and tolerance are the most distinctive characters of Shanghai. This kind of tolerant, enlightened and wise spirit permeates all aspects of government services: we strive for foreign talents to go to government departments to "run once", and the opening up policy has grown from a personalized "seed" that is discussed on a case by case basis into a "big tree" of institutional openness. ". Bit by bit, it is Shanghai's efforts to continuously pressurize itself and optimize the business environment.

The relevant person in charge of Meiji(China) Investment Co., Ltd. said that Meiji Group's new factory project in Songjiang District, Shanghai submitted the project through the "Shanghai Online Approval and Supervision Platform for Investment Projects" at 16:00on November 23, 2021. For the filing application, the project filing certificate was successfully obtained at 10:00 a.m. the next day, and it took less than one working day before and after.

In the future, there will be more and more beneficiaries. From March 1, 2022, the "Shanghai Administrative Measures for the Approval and Filing of Foreign Invested Projects" will be officially implemented. Shanghai will further simplify the approval materials, and while improving efficiency, it will clearly protect the investment autonomy of foreign investors and foreign invested enterprises. right.

Gu Jun, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, introduced that during the "14th Five Year Plan" period, Shanghai will become the first choice for foreign investment in the new era, and will basically build an Asian investment portal, and will put "developing a higher level headquarters economy" at the top of foreign investment work. It is important to encourage foreign investment to setup and develop global R&D centers and open innovation platforms.