Shanghai, as the leader of further opening up and attracting foreign investment in China, has recently promulgated the revised Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Encouraging Multinational Corporations to Establish Regional Headquarters (“2017 Regulations”) on February 14, 2017, which further optimizes the investment, economic development and governmental service environments, in order to spur multinational corporations (“MNC”) to consider Shanghai as their first choice for establishing regional headquarters.
In 2002, Shanghai promulgated the first interim regulations in China to encourage multinationals to establish regional headquarters (“Regional Headquarters”). These regulations were revised twice in 2008 and 2011 , and implemented as the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Encouraging Multinational Corporations to Establish Regional Headquarters (Hu Fu Fa [2011] No. 98) (“2011 Regulations”). Under these regulations, Shanghai developed a basic set of preferential policies to promote MNC to move their regional headquarters to Shanghai, including financial support and awards, convenience in managing funds and centralized management of foreign exchange, convenience in exit-entry formalities and employment permits, and other preferential policies such as talent introduction and more convenient customs clearances and so on.
