Surging Shanghai as 77 foreign investment project deals signed

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng on Tuesday witnessed the signing of agreements on 77 foreign investment projects worth over US$10.2 billion in total.

Also at the ceremony, a new batch of 31 regional headquarters and 13 research and development centers of multinational enterprises in Shanghai were awarded certificates.

Of the 44 companies awarded the certificates, 11 were in the manufacturing industry and 33 in the services sector. Among them, 16 were in Shanghai's key development industries, such as Germany's Lenze, which is a "hidden champion" in the high-end equipment manufacturing industry. Most of the companies are industry leaders, with many being among the top players in their respective fields.

It is worth noting that 10 of the companies have been certified for their regional headquarters for China or larger region, while two were awarded certificates as global research and development centers, such as Carestream Health's global R&D center in Shanghai.

As for the 77 foreign investment deals, they mainly involve key industries such as biomedicine, electronics, automobiles and fashion consumer goods, as well as new areas such as the digital economy and green and low-carbon development. South Korea's Genesis Motor, for example, is investing an additional US$400 million to expand its business in China.

Of note, 10 of the projects were from Fortune Global 500 companies, such as the United States-based Medtronic, which will establish an investment fund in Shanghai to create an innovative ecosystem for doctors, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors. France's Air Liquide also signed for an additional investment of US$120 million to expand its business in Qingpu District.

Faurecia, a leading global supplier of automotive technologies, is now actively expanding its footprint in the hydrogen market in China, with the establishment of Faurecia (Shanghai) Hydrogen Energy Investment Co in Jiading District as an important step.

"Through this project, we hope to further expand our business with hydrogen storage cylinders and systems, and promote the establishment and management of our hydrogen business in the global market, while helping China's automotive industry and society as a whole to achieve dual carbon goals," said Alban Brisset, general manager of Faurecia Hydrogen Solutions China.

Shanghai is the economic center of China and one of the most important automotive production areas in the Yangtze River Delta region, and Jiading is one of the areas with the highest concentration of automotive supply chain companies, he noted.

Also encouraging them is the Shanghai government's active support for the automotive industry, having recently indicated that it will promote the long-term development of fuel-cell vehicles.

Sumitomo Pharma from Japan, meanwhile, is investing another US$30 million in China, according to Yoshitaka Koketsu, president & chief executive of Sumitomo Pharma (China) Co.

According to Koketsu, the company plans to develop and launch new products in different fields in the next five years to better meet China's medical needs.

"We believe there will be more and more business opportunities in China in the future and hope to expand our market through the establishment of our investment company," he pointed out.

From January to May this year, Shanghai saw the establishment of 2,096 new foreign-funded companies, an increase of 78.7 percent year on year, while the actual use of foreign investment was up 17.3 percent to total US$11.171 billion.

In the first half of the year, the cumulative number of multinational companies' regional headquarters in the city reached 922, with 544 foreign-funded R&D centers.

All this indicates that Shanghai maintains its position as the city with the highest concentration of regional headquarters and R&D centers of MNCs on the Chinese mainland.

It also remains one of the most favored investment destinations for foreign investors and one of the preferred locations for MNCs' global industrial chain layouts.

Shanghai has pledged to continue to promote deeper, broader, and higher-level opening up to the outside world, create a market-oriented, rule-of-law-based and an international first-class business environment, and provide better services and conditions for foreign companies to grow in the city.