Conference highlights bullish business climate of Shanghai

City's investment incentives continue to attract interest from across world

The Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference 2024, showcasing the city's economic vitality, innovation prospects, preferential policies and investment potential, kicked off on March 29, inviting enterprises and business insiders from around the globe to invest in Shanghai.

In conjunction with the conference, it was announced that 21 new projects, incurring 52.4 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) of investment, are coming to the city, indicating that Shanghai's appeal to global investors remains as strong as ever.

In welcoming foreign and domestic attendees, Shanghai mayor Gong Zheng said the city will adhere to the "five-center" policy as its main focus while ramping up efforts to improve development quality, city influence and core competitiveness as well as cultivating a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, aligned with global standards and based on the rule of law.

Vice-mayor Hua Yuan recognized 10 world-renowned institutions and companies as"2024 Shanghai Global Investment Partners": consulting company Ernst & Young; e-commerce giant Alibaba; video-sharing platform Bilibili; French auto parts supplier Faurecia; global real estate agency Colliers International; global logistics solutions provider GLP; National Green Development Fund; Yihai Kerry; Chint Group; and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China. The enterprises will comprise an experts' think tank to support the "Invest in Shanghai" brand in the fields of new economy, automotive, consulting and finance, fashion, consumer products and others. Collectively, they will contribute to the city's different industry chains by bringing in high-end resources from around the world.

Chen Jie, vice-mayor of Shanghai, unveiled investment opportunities for key industry chains and segments, covering big models, humanoid robots, wide bandgap semiconductors, bio-manufacturing, metaverse, large aircraft and cruise ships, commercial aviation, new materials and hydrogen energy. Focusing on 14 key industry chains and 32 segments, the city government has formulated a mutually-enhancing and vibrant industry ecosystem through coordination and integrated deployment efforts.

Addressing the factors and indicators of funds, credits costs and spaces, which are of crucial importance for investors, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources and Shanghai Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission jointly issued the 2024's "Invest in Shanghai" policy package. Focusing on three leading industries, it includes the establishment of a new parent industrial fund valued at 100 billion yuan to leverage more investments from social capitals, with the aim to better serve "early-stage and smaller" projects, as well as to integrate industry investment with mergers and acquisitions to strengthen industry chains.

To meet project needs, the fund will work with banks to offer credits of 2 trillion yuan to support key industry chains. The package facilitates development of cost-cutting and the efficiency-enhancement of industries by introducing measures like ensuring the supply of industrial production resources, enhancing production efficiency, lowering logistical costs, expanding fiscal and tax support and strengthening services to enterprises.

Shanghai officials said the next two years will see a reduction of operating costs for industrial enterprises by 100 billion yuan while also promoting the further upgrade of industries and ensuring the building of more than 10 million square meters of space for smart manufacturing and development of new-generation productivity.

Apart from the plenary session, the conference featured the premeeting of the Advisory Council for Partners of Shanghai's Global Business Attraction and activities to showcase coordination between the municipality and the city's districts, investment opportunities in key industries, and the resources and advantages of Shanghai's districts and economic zones. Through incentives like "Shanghai in the Eyes of Central Enterprises" and "Private Enterprises Visiting Industrial Parks", entrepreneurs were invited to inspect different locales and communicate with governmental officials about investing in Shanghai.

At the conference, Wang Xiangming, chairman of China Resources Group, shared the company's experience of investing in Shanghai. He said CRG will increase its investment in key areas such as integrated circuits, healthcare, urban construction and operation, consumer products and integrated energy. Making full use of Shanghai's advantages in science and technology innovation, industrial clustering effects and business environment will give full play to the State-owned capital investment company's diversified industrial strengths, Wang added.

In 2023, more than 1,700 projects valued at more than 100 million yuan each were signed in Shanghai, with a planned total investment exceeding 1.5 trillion yuan. In the first quarter of 2024, 420 projects valued at 100 million yuan or more each landed in the city, with a total investment of 343.5 billion yuan.