Yangpu sets new foreign investment record
Yangpu District, the largest and most populous central urban area of Shanghai, marked another record of foreign investment this year, hitting US$1.039 billion from January to October.
The investment is a key step for Yangpu, a district with century-old universities and industrial achievements. According to development blueprints, Yangpu will become an intelligent business hub, cultural center and a digital economy highland with output over 300 billion yuan (US$44.1 billion) by 2025.
Firms covering artificial intelligence, big data and the automotive sector have gathered in Yangpu District. More firms and organizations have shown their commitments to Yangpu and Shanghai, with major business announcements made during the recently closed third China International Import Expo.
In the first 10 months of this year, Yangpu added 126 new foreign investment projects, with contracted foreign investment of US$1.323 billion and a record-high actual investment of US$1.039 billion. Since 2016, Yangpu has seen high growth in overseas investment annually. The investment comes from the headquarters economy and agglomeration effect, the district’s complete industry chain and booming Internet Plus industry.
Since the 13th Five-Year Plan (20162020), Yangpu’s headquarters economy has developed vigorously. Four companies have been recognized as the regional headquarters of multinational enterprises by the Shanghai Commission of Commerce, and 12 recognized as citylevel R& D centers. Its number of newly added R& D centers between 2017 and 2019 ranked second in the city, only after the Pudong New Area.
The agglomeration effects of enterprise headquarters have already appeared, forming two mature headquarters zones. One is the southern Dalian Road area where headquarters of Continental, Siemens, Lear, Embry, ThyssenKrupp and DRiV are located. The northern one, covering The Knowledge and Innovation Community ( KIC) and New Jiangwan Town, is home to headquarters of Nike, Henkel, Rexel, IBM and AECOM.
During the third CIIE, Siemens and the Yangpu District government signed a cooperation agreement on joint construction of an upgraded process industry intelligent manufacturing innovation center. Siemens is demonstrating the next-stage international cooperation in science and technology innovation in
Yangpu, according to He Wei, Siemens China vice president and general manager of Siemens East China.
Siemens was the first Fortune Global 500 foreign enterprise located in Yangpu. The world’s leading innovative technology company settled its East China headquarters in Yangpu in 2006. The decision was made not only because of Yangpu’s rich technology, education and talent resources, but also the government’s sustainable development strategy on the historical industrial base, He said.
Currently, advanced and complete industry chains have been formed in Yangpu, especially in the two sub-sectors of auto parts and artificial intelligence and big data. With Continental as the industry leader, the area continues to gather world-renowned auto parts companies such as Lear and DRiV. In terms of artificial intelligence and big data, Fortune 500 firms and leading industry players like IBM Customer Innovation Center, DELLEMC, Splunk, Accenture and Liulishuo have been attracted to the district.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Continental’s entry into the Chinese market and the 11th anniversary of the relocation of Continental’s China headquarters in Yangpu, according to Zhou Liqun, Continental China vice president.
“With high recognition of Yangpu’s business environment, we expect Continental to grow together with Yangpu to further tap into the Chinese market and provide more customers with better products and services,” Zhou said.
In recent years, a number of foreignfunded, state- owned or privately held Internet Plus firms have appeared in
Yangpu. Many of them come with overseas financing, international capital and advanced technologies, such as Mofang Apartment, Dada Group, Bilibili and Liulishuo.
Improved business environment
Innovation, entrepreneurship and talent have helped the district upgrade its economy and industry structure.
In recent years, various innovation and entrepreneurship competitions and forums have been held in Yangpu. The district has been the main venue in Shanghai of the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week for five consecutive years. Yangpu is also a base for resource sharing, innovation incubation and education.
Yangpu boasts rich talent resources in science and education. The number of undergraduates and postgraduates in Yangpu accounts for 20 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of Shanghai’s total. Yangpu’s national academicians and those with overseas study background, including world-renowned universities such as Princeton University and Columbia University, both account for about one-third of the city’s total. Yangpu has established an international consultant system for innovation and entrepreneurship. At the first CIIE, district leaders issued certificates to seven international consultants, and the number has risen to 13 now.
With improved business environment, Yangpu attracted more firms to settle and boost innovation.
Amcor, a leading company in the global consumer goods packaging industry, signed an agreement in January to set up its regional headquarters in Yangpu. Amcor will integrate leading technology and application of consumer product packaging, vast customer resources and Yangpu’s advantages in innovation to further boost technological innovation, accelerate China’s consumer goods industry development and achieve regional capac’s president.
Amcor’s pursuit of excellent technology and innovative design and its obsession with sustainable development are highly compatible with Yangpu, which has a modern industrial tradition and a strong innovative spirit, according to She.