Several Measures taken by Shanghai to Support the Upgrading of Regional Headquarters of Multinational Corporations

These measures are formulated to support the regional headquarters of multinational corporations (hereinafter referred to as "headquarters") in their in-depth participation in the construction of Shanghai's "five centers" and the establishment of a socialist modern international metropolis with global influence, to leverage the role of headquarters in global resource allocation, promote agglomeration functions, and enhance energy levels.

I. Main Objectives
Encourage the headquarters to further gather research and development innovation, treasury management, investment decision-making, procurement and distribution, supply chain management, sharing services, upgrade to high-level headquarters such as Asia-Pacific headquarters and global headquarters of business units. Strive to achieve 400 headquarters with more than three functions in three years, keep the number of Asia-Pacific headquarters stable and increase, and strive to exceed 20 business unit headquarters. Introduce and reserve a number of nurturing headquarters with certain headquarters functions.

2. Main Measures
（1） Rewards for upgrading capabilities and adding new features. For those who upgrade their China headquarters to the Asia Pacific headquarters and have two or more functions, a one-time high-energy level reward of 3 million RMB will be given. For those recognized as the global headquarters of the business unit, a one-time level upgrade reward of 10 million RMB will be given. For those who add R&D innovation and financial management functions to the headquarters, a one-time functional reward of 3 million RMB will be given after evaluation. A one-time innovation platform reward of 3 million RMB will be given to the recognized open innovation platform. Encourage the headquarters to hold high-level business activities such as global executive meetings and international training in our city, and provide classified financial rewards. The specific implementation measures for rewards shall be formulated separately by the relevant departments. Each district may formulate relevant support policies for cultivating headquarters based on actual situations. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Commerce, Municipal Finance Bureau, district governments)

（2） Increase support for research and development activities. Support headquarters with research and development capabilities to apply for recognition as high-tech enterprises and technologically advanced service enterprises, and enjoy preferential policies such as a 15% reduction in corporate income tax. Encourage headquarters to establish venture capital funds and enjoy relevant tax incentives in accordance with regulations. Encourage the headquarters to establish a public welfare basic research science fund, and provide a certain proportion of financial subsidies to the basic research projects supported by the fund in universities and institutes. Encourage headquarters with research and development capabilities to engage in research and development cooperation in cutting-edge technologies and future industries with universities, research institutions, enterprises, etc., and provide funding for eligible collaborative innovation projects. Support the construction of municipal key laboratories, technology innovation centers, and professional technical service platforms by the headquarters, and enjoy relevant funding support policies. Support the inclusion of eligible innovation projects and products from the headquarters in Shanghai's high-tech achievement transformation projects and related innovation catalogs. Support relevant industries that meet the requirements of the headquarters to enter the rapid pre examination and priority examination channels for patents, and support the headquarters to apply for Shanghai Patent Work Pilot Demonstration Enterprises and Shanghai Intellectual Property Excellent Rights Protection Projects. (Responsible units: Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Municipal Taxation Bureau, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Economic and Information Technology Commission, Municipal Intellectual Property Bureau)

（3） Support the establishment of shared R&D centers. Support the establishment of an open innovation platform by the headquarters, promote the docking and cooperation between the open innovation platform and various funds such as state-owned funds and industrial parent funds, and increase support for innovative projects on the platform. Encourage headquarters to participate in the construction of high-quality incubators in our city, and build cooperation platforms for startups, industry leaders, etc., who can enjoy relevant policy support. (Responsible units: Municipal Commerce Commission, Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Municipal State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Municipal Economic and Information Technology Commission)

（4） Support the establishment of a financial center. Encourage headquarters to establish a treasury center, build fund pools as needed, explore and optimize fund pool rules, encourage banks to gradually achieve automated cross-border payment processing of funds, and facilitate the centralized operation and management of domestic and foreign currency funds by host enterprises. Promote the optimization of free trade account functions, and handle RMB fund settlements with domestic ordinary accounts for high-quality headquarters that open free trade accounts in accordance with the "Three Principles of Business Development". Support banks in Shanghai to further improve the efficiency of cross-border payments at its headquarters. Support the headquarters in managing exchange rate risks, guide the headquarters in accessing the "Bank Enterprise Foreign Exchange Trading Service Platform" of the foreign exchange trading center, and support banks in providing discounts on margin, handling fees, foreign exchange option fees, and other aspects. (Responsible unit: Financial Office of the Municipal Party Committee, Shanghai Headquarters of the People's Bank of China (Shanghai Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange))

（5） Support the development of new types of trade. Support headquarters with actual needs and meeting conditions to carry out offshore economic and trade business. Support the headquarters to carry out bonded maintenance and cross-border remanufacturing pilot projects in accordance with regulations. Headquarters that meet the conditions can be included in the list of key enterprises for credit cultivation under the Customs' "Authorized Economic Operator" (AEO) program, with priority given to cultivation and certification. The group style "1+N" cluster cultivation and certification model will be applied to maximize the benefits of AEO policies. Explore supporting overseas parent companies to apply for price pre-determination of imported goods through their Shanghai headquarters. Encourage cross-border e-commerce companies to apply to become headquarters. Establish a green channel for cross-border data flow for eligible headquarters to facilitate cross-border data transmission. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Headquarters of the People's Bank of China (Shanghai Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange), Shanghai Customs, and the Municipal Cyberspace Office)

（6） Encourage headquarters to expand investment. Deepen the implementation of deferred tax policies for overseas investors' reinvestment of domestic profits, and provide the same supporting policies as for newly added foreign investment for headquarters to expand investment using retained earnings such as profits. Support the establishment of equity investment funds by the headquarters to participate in the reform of state-owned enterprises and the development of key industries through equity investment. Support the integration of headquarters' business and promote the listing of high-quality assets in China through the integration of headquarters with conditions. Encourage manufacturing enterprises under headquarters and their investment management to accelerate production line transformation and upgrading, as well as equipment updates. Provide support for relevant investment projects that meet the conditions for technological transformation investment subsidies, with a maximum investment of 100 million RMB and not exceeding 10% of the approved total project investment. Optimize the direct access mechanism for headquarters information, and timely push relevant policies and investment information to overseas headquarters and key decision-makers. Encourage headquarters and domestic enterprises to complement each other's advantages and jointly explore international markets through product, technology, service cooperation, and other means. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Commerce, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Taxation Bureau, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Financial Office, Municipal State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau, Municipal Economic and Information Technology Commission)

（7） Facilitating the entry and exit of headquarters personnel. Provide convenience for headquarters personnel to apply for APEC business cards and facilitate visa applications for talents traveling to Hong Kong and Macau. Provide convenience for overseas personnel of the headquarters to apply for multiple visas over the years. Provide convenience in handling work permits and residence permits for foreign talents hired by the headquarters, as well as in terms of "acceptance of vacancies" and extension of deadlines. Provide the same entry and stay period for accompanying spouses and family members of headquarters experts, senior management personnel of headquarters branches or subsidiaries in our city. Support the household registration of foreign senior management personnel 'families who meet the conditions at the headquarters. Provide convenience for multinational executives who come to Shanghai to participate in high-level business activities in terms of high-level meetings, round-trip visas, airport privileges, and other aspects. (Responsible units: Municipal Government Foreign Affairs Office, Municipal Talent Bureau, Municipal Public Security Bureau (Municipal Exit Entry Administration Bureau), Airport Group)

Give full play to the overall mechanism for promoting foreign investment in the city, form a working force, and support the development of the headquarters in Shanghai. Each district, based on its regional development positioning and industrial characteristics, will improve relevant policies for upgrading its headquarters, cultivate characteristic headquarters economic clusters, and achieve differentiated development of regional headquarters economy. The Municipal Commission of Commerce, in conjunction with relevant departments, will establish a headquarters evaluation system, continuously optimize evaluation indicators, conduct dynamic evaluations of the headquarters, and customize a "one enterprise, one file, one policy" improvement plan based on the evaluation results. Improve the headquarters' "service package" mechanism, equip headquarters service specialists, strengthen communication between government and enterprises, and carry out point-to-point services; Establish an extended service mechanism for the headquarters to assist in coordinating and resolving cross regional regulatory and rights protection issues.

This article shall come into effect on March 1, 2025 and be valid until February 28, 2030.

Source：SHANGHAI FOREIGN AFFAIRS OFFICE