Shanghai held Friday a certification and signing ceremony for the 41st batch of multinational company regional headquarters and research and development centers, marking new milestones in the city's foreign investment and innovation landscape.
At the event, 30 newly recognized regional headquarters and 15 foreign-funded R and D centers received official certificates, reflecting the continued attractiveness of China's financial hub to global business leaders.
A total of 56 foreign investment projects were signed, with a total investment of approximately 3.68 billion U.S. dollars. Of these, 33 projects were signed on-site.
The awarded multinational headquarters and R and D centers are largely aligned with Shanghai's strategic industries, such as biopharmaceuticals, intelligent manufacturing, and fashion consumer goods. The newly certified enterprises are high-level players, including seven Fortune Global 500 companies, five regional headquarters for Greater China or above, and one divisional headquarters.
The signed foreign investment projects span several key sectors, including finance, automotive, and business services, as well as newly emerging areas like the digital economy and green, low-carbon industries.
From January to May this year, nearly 2,500 foreign-funded enterprises were newly established in Shanghai, with actual foreign direct investment exceeding 7.6 billion U.S. dollars.
To date, Shanghai is home to 1,042 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 605 foreign-funded R and D centers, maintaining its position as the city with the highest concentration of them in Chinese mainland.
Shanghai welcomes newly certified multinational companies
