Jing'an aims to be global service provider

Jing’an is one of the smallest districts in Shanghai, but houses 80 regional headquarters, accounting for nearly 12 percent of the city's total. Its Nanjing Road and commercial hubs are hailed as the most dynamic in the city.

On Monday, Jing’an said it will become a global service provider, a further step to attract multinational companies to set regional headquarters and help domestic brands to expand into the overseas market.

It plans to have world-renowned and highly competitive consulting firms, law offices and other industry leaders in the service sector so that companies at home and overseas can enjoy one-stop world-class services.

Each year, Jing’an hopes to add at least 10 world-renowned service organizations and more than five regional headquarters of multinational companies, under the plan revealed on Monday.

Zhou Haiying, deputy director of Jing’an, said: “What we always believe in is that government serves companies and companies serve the globe.”

He added: “Shanghai is a portal city where foreign companies enter China and domestic companies expand overseas market. Jing’an, as one of the most international districts in China, should play a pioneering role and take its advantage to support the city to turn from a portal to a global outstanding city.”

The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It has a list of reputable service providers, and Jing’an has 20 of them, a third of the city’s total.

They include consultancy Bain, accounting firm KPMG, advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, law firm Jones Day and bank BNP. Jing’an also holds the country’s first human resources national-level industrial park.

Jing’an will also be more internationally friendly so as to make overseas talent stay and foreign companies set up offices, according to Zhao Jianfeng, director of the Jing’an District Development and Reform Commission.

Jiang Hao, vice president of the China office of German consulting firm Roland Berger, said: “What talented people are concerned about most are a good living environment, convenient traffic and favorable policies. Authorities should take their needs as a top priority and create a great ecosystem based on their needs.”

By the end of 2022, services provided by the government will all be bilingual. Also, major communities and public venues will be covered with bilingual service to make foreigners feel at home, Zhao said.