A certification ceremony for the regional headquarters of multinational corporations and R&D centers is held by the Shanghai Municipal Government on April 8. [Photo/WeChat account: shanghaifabu]

The Shanghai Municipal Government certified 21 new regional headquarters of foreign-funded multinational companies and 10 new foreign-funded R&D centers on April 8, reflecting the city's continued popularity among foreign investors.

The multinational companies are mainly industry leaders, including two Fortune 500 companies, and are engaged in fields Shanghai is striving to promote, including biomedicine, digital information technology, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, integrated circuits and new materials.

In total, the regional headquarters of 730 foreign-funded multinational companies as well as 466 foreign-funded R&D centers are located in Shanghai, creating a thriving headquarters economy in the city, according to statistics from the municipal commission of commerce.

As the worldwide economy is battered by the COVID-19 outbreak, Shanghai saw rising foreign capital inflows totaling about $4.67 billion during the first quarter this year, up 4.5 percent year-on-year, thanks to a number of measures launched to improve the business environment amid the epidemic, the municipal government said on April 8.

The city has rolled out a series of policies to facilitate business and investment this year. Since the outbreak, municipal and district officials have been maintaining close contact with foreign-funded enterprises to help solve difficulties caused by the epidemic.