Shanghai will further open its service sector and aims to lure more foreign investment, Vice Mayor Zhou Yupeng said yesterday.

The service sector attracted the largest share of Shanghai's contractual foreign capital last year, with US$9.76 billion, or 67 percent of the total US$14.57 billion invested. The investment was mainly in commerce and real estate.

Total contractual foreign investment in Shanghai surged 5.4 percent year on year in 2006.
During yesterday's briefing on Shanghai's foreign trade and investment, the vice mayor said Shanghai would intensify the process of opening-up in 2007, especially in the service sector.

"The municipality will attract more institutions including multinational companies' global headquarters and regional centers, research and development centers, investment firms and operating centers," he said.

To further boost investment in the modern and manufacturing-based service industries, foreign-funded financial institutions, forwarders, shipping service providers as well as professional service providers are welcome in Shanghai, he added.

One of the first "service outsourcing base cities" in China, Shanghai will take measures to enhance its service outsourcing business and attract investors.

Foreign-invested enterprises have contributed a lot to the municipality's economic growth, according to figures from the Shanghai Economic Relations and Trade Commission.

Active participation in the region's economy in turn has brought considerable profits. In the first 11 months of last year, foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai reported a combined 1.4 trillion yuan in sales revenue, a year-on-year jump of 12.8 percent, with total profit surging 30 percent.

The foreign-invested companies were major contributors to the municipality's total output.

In 2006, the combined output value of overseas players accounted for 63.5 percent of the municipality's total, 66.8 percent of exports and 28 percent of local revenue.

They are also major employers in Shanghai. Foreign companies had hired 1.68 million personnel by the end of November, about a quarter of the municipality's total.

(China Daily January 10, 2007)