Headquarters economy booms in Shanghai

Lujiazui, the financial center of Shanghai, located in the Pudong New Area, forms a perfect backdrop to the city's fabled Bund area. [Wang Gang/For China Daily]

The headquarters economy is roaring ahead in Shanghai city in East China, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest data showed that from January to November last year, 56 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 23 foreign-funded research and development centers were established in Shanghai. By the end of November, 827 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 504 foreign-funded R&D centers had been set up in the city.

Among the 827 regional headquarters of multinational companies, 121 were set up by the world's top 500 corporations and 158 were at the Greater China level or above.

As of November, the regional headquarters in Shanghai accounted for only 1.1 percent of the total number of international companies in the city, but contributed 18.2 percent to the city's foreign enterprise tax revenue.    

The headquarters are mainly from the developed countries and companies from Europe, the United States and Japan account for 79 percent of the total.

Shanghai's Pudong New Area provides the largest concentration of regional headquarters, followed by Xuhui district and the Hongqiao International Central Business District.

Under Shanghai's plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, the city will continue to develop as a preferred destination for foreign investment and become a magnet and an investment gateway in Asia. Moreover, it will give top priority to developing a higher-level economy harnessed by foreign investment.