Shanghai Simplifies Investment Procedures for Foreign Firms

Aug. 19, 2009 - PRLog -- The Shanghai government has announced plans to give district-level authorities the power to clear foreign investment projects with an investment of up to $100 million starting from August 1.  Previously, district-level governments were only able to clear foreign investment projects up to $30 million.  The policy change is aimed at attracting more foreign investment to Shanghai, which is already positioning itself as a global financial center.

Sha Hailin, Ddirector of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce (SCOFCOM) stated that "We'll delegate more powers to the lower-level commerce commissions to facilitate foreign investment in the city."  According to Sha, foreign investors have set up 16 regional headquarters, five investment companies, and 10 research and development centers so far in 2009, brining the total number of international companies in the city to 708.

"The relaxing of the foreign investment approval process will certainly help larger investors.  In the past, investment projects which were over $30 million required higher levels of government approval which in some cases significantly slowed down the set-up process.  By delegating the approval process down to the local districts, the process should be more streamlined and efficient, resulting in faster approvals and faster company set-up.  Another possible benefit to foreign investors is that the various districts may now compete with each other to attract foreign investment, resulting in even more favorable treatment for investors in Shanghai” said Scott Garner of Lehman Tax & Accounting.  

Lehman Tax & Accounting is a prominent Chinese CPA and business advisory firm with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Mongolia.

To learn more about Lehman Tax & Accounting, please visit the firm’s website at www.lehman.com.cn.

# # #

Lehman, Lee & Xu is a prominent Chinese corporate law firm and trademark and patent agency with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, and Mongolia. The firm is managed by Mr. Edward Lehman.