Shanghai woos MNCs with friendly visa policies

TO make the city friendlier to foreign investors, Shanghai yesterday allowed more multinational companies to benefit from the city's 2012 policies for foreign investment.

Supportive policies regarding visa, residence permit, working certificate and foreign expert certificate will cover multinational companies even if they do not have their regional headquarters in Shanghai, but running the core subsidiaries such as strategy-making, asset management, sourcing, sales, logistics, training, and research and development in the city, according to the Shanghai Commission of Commerce.

For companies applying for the benefits, they must have assets of no less than US$200 million, operating at least three ventures on the Chinese mainland, one of which should be registered in Shanghai, and employing more than 50 manager-level staff on a 500-square-meter-plus office.

Previously, multinational companies applying for financial subsidies had to locate their regional headquarters, which governed at least one country's business all the way from designing, producing, marketing to selling, in Shanghai, running at least six ventures on the Chinese mainland and with at least US$400 million assets.

In 2012, Shanghai rolled out a set of policies to beef up efforts on attracting multinational companies to locate or upgrade their regional headquarters in the city. The policies included giving incentives and offering more convenience. The convenience were in the form of longer visas for company executives, an increase in the quota for headquarters to exchange foreign currencies or use the yuan, and a rise in the number of executives who can apply for foreign expert certificates.

"We have expanded the arrangement of those who can enjoy this convenience," said Hao Wei, an official with the commission. "The move is an indication of better government services that make it easier for multinational companies to attract professionals."

For such multinational companies, their foreign employees can now apply for a one-year-long, multi-entry visa, which allows stays of no more than 180 days.

Also, foreign general managers, vice general managers and financial directors at the local branch can have a five-year residence permit, which does not have to renewed every year, while a four-year will be given to managers at the department level, and three year for ordinary foreign employees.