Shanghai home to over 1,160 multinational headquarters

More than 1,160 multinational companies have headquarters or R&D centers located in Shanghai, according to official statistics, suggesting strong international confidence in the China market.

This number was calculated after the Shanghai municipal government issued certificates for the regional headquarters and R&D centers of 35 foreign multinational companies on Nov 20.

Twenty-four of the 35 companies are manufacturing companies, including four biomedical companies, three semiconductor companies, an optical communications company, a machine tool company, and an electric company. All of these companies are involved in Shanghai's strategic emerging industries or high-end manufacturing industries.

The other 11 companies, all of which are in the service sector, include four shipping and logistics companies, two information technology companies, two trading companies, and three companies engaged in finance, catering, and industrial design.

Fourteen of the companies have received investments from Global Fortune 500 companies and global industry leaders such as Japan's ITOCHU Corporation, the US's Coca-Cola Company, Travelex (the world's largest foreign currency exchange company), Fonterra (one of the world's largest dairy groups), NVIDIA (a world-renowned artificial intelligence computing company), and Lincoln Electric (a world-leading welding company).

According to the latest statistics from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, from January to October this year, a total of 5,670 foreign-invested projects with $42.098 billion in contractual foreign investment and $16.18 billion in paid-in capital were established in Shanghai, year-on-year increases of 34.3 percent, 15.5 percent, and 11.9 percent, respectively.

According to the 2018 annual report on foreign-invested enterprises, the regional headquarters of multinational companies in Shanghai accounted for less than 2 percent of Shanghai's foreign-funded enterprises but contributed 10 percent of the total operating income of foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai, 17 percent of total profits, 12 percent of total tax revenue, and more than 6 percent of jobs, showing impressive progress within the China market.