Saha-Union from Thailand, together with another 11 foreign companies, got the go-ahead Thursday from the municipal government of Shanghai to settle its regional headquarters in this financial hub of east China.

The move by the 12 foreign companies brought the total number of regional headquarters of transnational corporations to 69 in Shanghai, according to the local economic and trade authority.

The Saha-Union funded one thermal power station in eastern and southwestern China annually in the past 11 years, with a combined investment of more than 200 million US dollars, according to Laksana Jarusaengpairoj, vice general manager of the Thai company.

The other 11 foreign companies which also obtained permission to set up regional headquarters in Shanghai included the General Motors of the United States, Loreal of France, Shiseido of Japan, Otsuka and Toyo Ink Corporate Management of Japan, Carrier AC & Refrigeration Management from the United States and GT Tire of Singapore.

The municipal government of Shanghai will continue to provide regulatory support and improve services for the development of the regional headquarters of the transnational corporations, said Vice Mayor Zhou Yupeng.

The regulatory support includes allowing the regional headquarters to expand their capital management, authorizing eligible ones to conduct import and export business and granting favorable treatment for new- and high-tech enterprises to those capable of dealing in research and development, and improving control over entry and exit of their staff.

By the end of May 2004, Shanghai had approved the establishment of nearly 34,000 foreign-invested projects, involving 79.611 billion US dollars in contracted foreign capital and 49.474 billion US dollars in real term, according to statistics provided by the local economic and trade authority.

The statistics also show that between January and May, Shanghai approved 1,892 foreign-invested firms, involving 5.174 billion US dollars in combined contracted foreign capital, up 0.2 percent over the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2004)