New area's services providing convenience for enterprises

Sichuan Tianfu New Area, a national-level development zone in western China, has implemented a raft of innovative services such as agent services and convenient offshore company registrations to benefit enterprises and entrepreneurs.

An entrepreneur surnamed Mao came to the administrative service center in the area recently to change the names of a legal representative and supervisor. Based on her previous experiences, she thought she was going to go through complicated procedures. But this time she made use of the area's newly launched agent service and a kindly professional staff member helped her finish the whole procedure in only 20 minutes.

"I thought the process might take one to two weeks. I didn't expect to get these things done so quickly and easily," Mao said, adding that her company was set up in Tianfu New Area last year. "I have gone through such procedures in many coastal cities. It was the first time for me to receive such good service."

Tianfu New Area launched agent services on Oct 8 to guide and assist people with their business issues, and being one step ahead of its peers, set up the Chief Government Affairs Representative Service Center. By Oct 29, more than 400 applications were completed, and the center won praise from the public.

The center provides free guidance for 554 issues and 320 services such as filling in forms and online applications for college-aged entrepreneurs, veterans, the elderly, the weak and the disabled. It also provides full-time agent services for market participants in 143 issues from establishment and change, to registration and approval. The center is expected to be able to solve more matters soon, local officials said.

At the same time, the area is working hard to optimize its business environment to promote high-level opening-up and attract overseas enterprises.

"Tianfu New Area leverages the Western China (Chengdu) International Expo City and the Tianfu International Convention Center, and has become one of China's most important exhibition areas. We chose Tianfu New Area for its position as the highland of western China's growth," Macao-based Yizhong Communication's legal representative Hamson Wai said.

Wai planned to register a new company in Tianfu New Area, but he couldn't go to Sichuan personally due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But he later found that he could register his company online thanks to Tianfu New Area's pilot program for offshore company registrations. A package of five steps for foreign companies to start their businesses in the area is now available.

As early as 2016, Tianfu New Area started its registration service for business startups, which functions as the primary guarantee for the cross-border registration of foreign-funded enterprises and enables companies without a fixed office to register.

With digital measures, startups are able to complete their registration online. As of October, the total number of registered startups in Tianfu New Area had reached 11,899, accounting for 22 percent of the total enterprises in the area.

Tianfu New Area has also established the "e-resident" service system under the guidance of the Chengdu branch of the People's Bank of China, which has collected a batch of Legal Entity Identifiers.

In February, the Sichuan Chengdu Yizhong Macao-Portugal Exhibition became the first overseas "e-resident "in Tianfu New Area, which marked the package of offshore registration of foreign-funded enterprises becoming a reality, local officials said.

"I hope there will be an official brochure on talent recruitment so that we can take it to more enterprises in other provinces and attract more enterprises to develop in the new area," Xu Xiaochen, chairman of Chengdu Yuanben Innovation and Technology, said at a recent forum.

Considering his requirements, the area has immediately printed a manual about the environment for innovation, entrepreneurship and talent development, as well as various related policies and services. The manual was also published online.

"I didn't expect the area to put my proposal into practice so soon." Xu said, adding that the manual enables enterprises and talents from other places in China to understand the area's policies and services more easily.

Xu's company founded in 2014 and was one among the first batch of technology companies in the area. It grew fast from a team of several people to a unicorn company with branches in 70 cities. Unicorn companies are startups valued at more than $1 billion.

"Our success can be attributed to the area's fertile ground for entrepreneurship," Xu said.

Xu added that the livable environment is highly favored by entrepreneurs and talents. And industrial clusters around cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and new economy in the area provide a first-class industrial environment for enterprises too.

"I am most impressed by the area's meticulous care for startups and talents," Xu said. The area offers a string of services for talents and helps them with day-to-day tasks, so that they can better devote themselves to their careers.

"Thanks to the favorable policies and services at Tianfu New Area, my company has attracted many top talents originally from coastal areas and even abroad, pushing the company to grow stronger," Xu said.

"We will recommend the area to our partners. It is a good place to start a business, invest and grow."