The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (SHFTZ) launched a "model company" selection campaign in March 2017, aiming to highlight its innovation and reform achievements over the past years. The six-month long event invited more than 80,000 SHFTZ-registered companies to sign up via self-recommendation or via recommendation from others.

After publication, application, on-site inspection, experts' voting and online voting, the campaign selected the top 10 model companies and six sample enterprises, covering foreign-funded, State-owned and private companies, which served as examples of successfully utilizing SHFTZ's innovative measures to enhance growth and development.

In addition, the SHFTZ has compiled a case book of first model companies for its policy innovation, with the hope of encouraging more companies to turn the Zone's innovative measures and preferential policies into their own advantages and growth points.

About Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (SHFTZ) Branch of Bank of China

As an important affiliate of Bank of China and a pioneer of financial reforms in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, the BOC Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Branch has been innovating its products and services to facilitate the development of the pilot free trade zone and cater to the city's positioning as an international financial center.

The SHFTZ branch is actively helping the enterprises in the zone take advantage of all possible market and resources at home and abroad with its six platforms -- cross-border investment and financing, merger and acquisition, global cash management, bulk commodity trade and financing, as well as trading platform for the financial market.

A group of innovative financial solutions tailored to the enterprises' going-global strategy and cross-border e-commerce companies' online local and foreign currency receipts and payments have been awarded for three consecutive years in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Thanks to the preferential financial policies in the SHFTZ, the branch offers products and services to boost the real economy. By the end of June 2017, it had opened more than 14,400 free trade accounts; the balance of RMB deposits and loans under the free trade accounts is 3.1 billion yuan ($484.37 million) and 108.6 billion yuan, respectively, ranking first in China; the cumulative receipts and payments of double-way cross-border RMB fund pool totaled more than 165 billion yuan.

The branch also offers centralized operation of foreign exchange funds and its cross-border RMB business ranks first in the domestic market.

More than 1,000 enterprises have benefited from its products and services in their internalization.

It has also developed a whole-process risk management mechanism, market-oriented pricing and a separate accounting management system to control financial risks.

Based on its global network of financial services, Bank of China plays an active role in innovating products and services to seek development and boost the local economy.