Shanghai certifies 30 overseas offices amid China’s investment sales pitch

2026.03.19 10:50 A view of the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai’s Pudong district. Photo: AFP Shanghai certified 30 new regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 15 research and development centres funded by overseas entities on Wednesday – a sign of continued interest in the Chinese financial hub despite an overall decline in the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI). Of the companies whose headquarters and R&D centres were certified this week in a ceremony hosted by the city’s mayor, Gong Zheng, eight are on the Fortune 500 list, according to a statement from the municipal government’s commerce commission. Others came from sectors designated by Beijing as priority areas for future growth, including biopharmaceuticals, integrated circuits and hi-tech equipment. As Chinese authorities attempt to entice foreign firms and win back investor confidence, Shanghai has been central to those efforts, hosting a cumulative 1,084 regional headquarters and 647 R&D centres for overseas companies as of last month. “Shanghai remains one of the preferred destinations for foreign investment and a prime location for multinational corporations in their global industrial and supply chain,” the statement said. The batch of certifications – a semi-regular occurrence for Shanghai, with this week’s ceremony the 42nd of its kind – came as a sustained drop in FDI exerts pressure for China’s cities to demonstrate progress contributing to a national rebound. The country’s actual utilised FDI, which represents realised investments, has contracted for three consecutive years, falling 9.5 per cent year on year in 2025 after a 24.7 per cent decline in 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. January still saw the figure fall year on year, the bureau reported, albeit to a smaller degree at 5.7 per cent. However, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises rose 25.5 per cent the same month. Of January’s actual utilised FDI, the hi-tech sector ac

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