Foreign companies sign big deals in Shanghai as part of China's efforts to improve business conditions



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Chinese visitors look at the robot arms exhibited on ABB 's booth at the 20th China International Industry Fair held in Shanghai in September 2018. Photo: IC

Shanghai has received a series of major foreign investments in high-end manufacturing, including robotics and new energy vehicles (NEVs) in recent months, indicating that Shanghai remains very attractive to foreign investors .

At a time when China continues to push ahead with reforms and efforts to improve the conditions of foreign companies, the new investment also highlights the importance that multinationals attach to the Chinese market and improving the climate of business in the country, despite the recent decline. pressure, badysts said Sunday.

In the latter case, the Swiss industrial group ABB Group announced on Saturday that it would invest up to $ 150 million in the construction of the world's most advanced robotics plant in Shanghai.

"This new manufacturing center in Shanghai, China, will combine the company's connected digital technologies, state-of-the-art collaborative robotics and advanced research in artificial intelligence to create" the most sophisticated plant of the future. " ", said the company. in a statement, adding that the plant is expected to be operational by 2020.

In a separate strategic partnership agreement with the Shanghai municipal government, ABB will also support the city in the sectors of industry, new energy, transportation and infrastructure, according to a report published Saturday on the website thepaper.cn .

Also on Saturday, the Shanghai municipal government signed a dozen foreign investment projects representing a total investment of 23.4 billion yuan (3.37 billion US dollars) in a ceremony in Shanghai, the newspaper reported on Saturday. .

Investments come from countries such as the United States, France, Germany and Japan. They include a $ 116.5 million investment by Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda and an $ 85 million investment from Nu Skin Enterprises, an American provider of skin care and nutrition products, and French sports retailer Decathlon will spend $ 144 million on its proposed head office expansion, according to the report.

High-end focus

Analysts noted that the new deals in Shanghai reflected the general trend of the Chinese economy to replace the low-end manufacturing sector with the high-end manufacturing sector, a goal pursued by the country.

"Such a transformation can be difficult to see, especially when there is so much negative news about the Chinese economy, that it is about the trade war with the United States, the pressure or the so-called story "of foreign investors fleeing China" but the truth is what is happening, "said Sun Lijian, professor of economics at Fudan University in Shanghai. "China is moving towards high-end manufacturing and high-quality growth."

Sun told the Global Times on Sunday that China has used a variety of measures to open up its huge domestic market to foreign companies, including easing restrictions on foreign investors in certain sectors and lifting restrictions on equity participation.

"All of these efforts are focused on one goal: improving business conditions for foreign investors, and by looking at these investments, we can see that foreign companies are still very interested in the Chinese market and confident in its potential," added Sun.

Li Daxiao, chief economist at Yingda Securities, based in Shenzhen, pointed out that the increasing number of foreign investment in China, especially in the high-end manufacturing industries, would not only boost confidence in the economy but also contribute to its long-term growth.

"Foreign investment has helped China a lot in recent decades, and as the country is undergoing a crucial transformation, we still need foreign investment, skills and technology," Li said. Global Times. "That's why we continue to make efforts to open the market to foreign investors."

Newspaper title: foreign companies continue to invest

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