A guide to being a gold rusher in Shanghai

An official investment promotion and matchmaking conference was held on Friday ahead of the upcoming international import expo, releasing a fresh investment map and navigation of Shanghai's foreign investment landscape.

Compiled by Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board, the map features 55 investment tour routes for foreign guests to the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE), displaying investment highlights in the city's 16 districts as well as Hongqiao Business District and Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

With the help of the map, foreign investors can get a glimpse of the latest investment policies in eight key industrial sectors, including financial services, new consumption and technological innovation, said Xue Feng, president of the investment development board.

Launched for the first time this year, the Navigation of Shanghai's Foreign Investment Landscape focuses on the city's regulations on foreign investment, and displays all-round information on foreign investment promotion, investment protection, investment management and services in map language.

In addition to releasing the layout of multinational headquarters and their research and development centers in Shanghai for the first time, the navigation also displays the city's supporting services for foreign investment as well as investment hot spots and new investment opportunities during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Xue added.

"What foreigners value most is our unique transportation system," said Li Li, director of the Minhang District Investment Promotion Center. " You know, business people travel a lot."

As the city's gateway to the Yangtze River Delta region, Minhang looks like a "golden key" on Shanghai's geographical map.

Thanks to its developed transportation network, strong industrial facilities, rich culture and a pool of tech talent, the district attracted over 39,000 firms in the past year, which contributed around 1.48 billion yuan (US$230 million) of its taxation, Li noted in an interview with Shanghai Daily.

With the strong spillover effects of the CIIE, the city has enjoyed good momentum in utilizing foreign capital since the beginning of this year, Zhu Yi, vice chairwoman of the Shanghai Commission of Commerce, told the conference.

From January to September, a total of 5,136 foreign-funded enterprises were established, up 27.1 percent from a year earlier.

The foreign capital actually used was US$17.847 billion, up 15 percent year on year and 22 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

Forty-seven regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 20 foreign-funded R&D centers were added in Shanghai between January and September, making the city home to 818 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 501 foreign R&D centers, according to Zhu.

The 2021 Shanghai City Promotion Convention, to be held on November 6, will showcase the city's openness and introduce the new changes and progress of Shanghai's business environment in the past year on the occasion of the fourth CIIE, which takes place from November 5 to 10.

International organizations, senior executives of multinational companies and heads of overseas investment promotion agencies will gather to share their investment and development stories and jointly launch an initiative to invest in Shanghai.