China's economic hub Shanghai has just issued a white paper on
the environment for foreign investment, and the paper is the first
from a local government in the country.
The document was mainly compiled by the Shanghai foreign trade
and economic cooperation commission and the municipal working
committee for foreign investment.
The white paper describes, from six aspects, the overall
environment for foreign investment in Shanghai, claiming that
despite some rising costs the city remains China's prior
destination for foreign capital.
It expounds several special topics, including the protection of
intellectual property rights, the 2010 World Expo, comprehensive
reform in the Pudong New District, the Yangshan deep-water harbor
and business costs.
The white paper also unveils the findings of a survey of
Shanghai in the eye of foreign investors.
Ninety percent of the foreign businesses surveyed said Shanghai
was their favourite investment destination in the Chinese
mainland.
More than 70 percent of the investors polled scored above 80
(with a total of 100 marks) for Shanghai's overall investment
environment. And 45.1 percent saw government efficiency as the
city's international competitive edge, with 56.8 percent and 69.5
percent, respectively, choosing labor force quality and
infrastructure.
Vice Mayor Zhou Yupeng said such a white paper on environment
for foreign investment by the local government will build a nexus
between foreign companies and the government. It will help foreign
investors understand Shanghai thoroughly.
According to official statistics, by the end of 2005, Shanghai
had approved the establishment of nearly 40,500 foreign investment
projects and attracted US$99.96 billion in contracted foreign
capital, with US$59.76 billion actually used.
Last year, foreign-funded companies in Shanghai garnered
approximately 1.4 trillion yuan (US$175 billion) in sales revenue,
a growth of 35 percent over the previous year. Their combined
profits amounted to 66.79 billion yuan (US$8.3 billion). They
employed 1.55 million people, up 7.2 percent, involving 57.9
billion yuan (US$7.2 billion) in payroll.
The foreign-funded enterprises handed in 38.9 billion yuan
(US$4.86 billion) in taxes, up 7.6 percent.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2006)
