Shanghai boasts 998 regional headquarters of multinationals

Shanghai, China's financial hub and a popular foreign investment destination, is home to 998 regional headquarters of multinational companies at present, said the Shanghai Foreign Investment Association.

Shanghai has over 75,000 foreign-invested enterprises, with the cumulative actual use of foreign capital reaching 350 billion U.S. dollars.

Among them, 258 enterprises made it onto Shanghai's top 100 rankings across four key categories in 2023, namely operating revenue, total imports and exports, tax contributions and job creation, according to the association's announcement of the city's top foreign-invested enterprises.

In terms of the origin of investors, companies from the United States ranked first, with a total of 83 enterprises represented in the rankings, followed by 32 Japanese firms and 28 German companies. In 2023, Tesla Shanghai Co., Ltd. was the only enterprise to rank in the top 10 for all four categories, said the association.

The municipal government of Shanghai issues certification to foreign companies' regional headquarters as official recognition. In July, the certification was given to 30 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 15 foreign-funded research and development centers.

Nearly half of them are from key industries prioritized by the city, such as electronic information, life sciences, advanced equipment, and consumption, including British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, French exhibition company GL events and global mining leader Anglo American.

"Shanghai is one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investment globally," said Liu Ping, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, describing the foreign-invested enterprises gathered in Shanghai as a key engine driving the city's industrial upgrades and a major force in promoting technological innovation.

Official data indicates that foreign-invested enterprises in Shanghai contribute significantly to the city's economy, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the city's total imports and exports, 40 percent of its industrial output, one-third of its tax revenue, one-quarter of its GDP and one-fifth of its employment.