12 foreign companies pledge 23.4b yuan investment in Shanghai

Twelve major foreign-funded projects will soon set foot in Shanghai, as the city maintains its position as a hot spot to attract foreign investment.

Data center solution provider GDS, SAIC General Motors, and German vehicle supplier SAF-Holland are among a list of companies pledging a total investment of 23.4 billion yuan ($3.37 billion) in the city, the municipal government announced at a contract signing ceremony on Saturday.

The biggest proposed investment comes from electric vehicle startup Nio, which promises a fresh injection of 16.6 billion yuan in the research and development of electrification, intelligence, connectivity and light weight of new energy cars.

French sports goods retailer Decathlon is scheduled to set up a sports equipment headquarters in Shanghai with an estimated investment of 1 billion yuan, whereas Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda plans to add 809 million yuan to its Shanghai operation and is on course to introduce seven new medicines in the Chinese market over the next five years.

In the first nine months of 2018, the city attracted 3,704 new foreign-funded projects, up 17.8 percent year-on-year, according to official figures. During the same period, contracted foreign funds, an indicator of future commitments of capital, grew 20.4 percent to $33.62 billion.

The city remains home to the largest number of regional headquarters for multinational corporations, including 653 companies' regional headquarters and 79 Asia-Pacific headquarters. The latest entrant includes Nasdaq-listed GDS, which is looking to set up its China headquarters in Shanghai, on top of an additional 555 million yuan investment to bolster growth.