Epidemic aside, Shanghai continues to attract foreign investment

A total of 37 foreign investment projects worth US$3 billion have been signed with Shanghai city and district-level governments through new remote platforms as of February when business sentiment remained upbeat.

In total, more than US$10 billion worth of foreign investment contracts have been signed, both remotely and face-to-face, since the beginning of this year, among which more than 60 foreign investment projects with contract value of US$7.3 billion were signed in January.

"The new batches of foreign investment deals have greatly lifted the confidence of foreign business in Shanghai," said Xue Feng, president of Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board.

"The city will stick to its previous goals and strive to achieve stable development through joint working mechanisms that link online and offline sources," he added.

District authorities in Minhang, Baoshan, Hongqiao and the Pudong New Area have hosted remote contract-signing activities through teleconferencing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Investment guides and relevant data covering different industry sectors in the city will also be released in the near future to further enhance the investment environment and improve the efficiency for doing business in Shanghai.

In Minhang District, a total of 17.5 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) worth of investment contracts were signed, among which 6.3 billion yuan are involved in foreign investment projects.

The district government has made a list of key industries and also unveiled supportive measures to speed up the granting of relief funds so enterprises can receive them before the end of the first quarter, according to Fu Gan, director of the Minhang District Foreign Investment Development Board.

The city's commerce commission and investment promotion bodies will also work to diversify investment promotion activities under special circumstances to connect with potential foreign investors.

The investment promotion board will soon host online seminars for overseas investors in the coming weeks to offer a more comprehensive understanding after a total of 28 measures were released by the city last month to support businesses during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The city is also working on the release of a local regulation to offer detailed explanation for the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect on January 1 this year.

Local and foreign enterprises have reached agreements on 12 new industrial projects this year with the Lingang authority in the special area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, with total investment of more than 20 billion yuan.