Govt to ease registration process for foreign firms

Foreign-invested enterprises will find it easier to register business in China as part of the country's efforts to continue to attract foreign investment and to improve business environment, head of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said on March 9.

Zhang Mao, head of SAIC, said at the sideline of first session of the 13th National People's Congress: "This year the administration will further simplify the registration procedures for foreign-invested enterprises in the country."

Currently, foreign-invested enterprises are required to register first at the Ministry of Commerce before they are granted business licenses by the SAIC.

The SAIC and the Ministry of Commerce have jointly worked on this issue and are going to implement nationwide to reduce the pre-approval procedures for foreign-invested enterprises' business registrations.

On July 1 this year, the two steps will be combined into one procedure. The move is expected to shorten the registration time for foreign-invested enterprises, Zhang said.