Tianjin to grant easier access for foreign capital

Updated : 2018-02-12

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Tianjin recently announced more measures to attract foreign investment, promising easier access and a better environment.

Foreign investors will have more access to the services industry and manufacturing sector. The world's top 500 enterprises and leading companies are encouraged to invest in Tianjin. 

The government will relax entry controls for banks, insurance companies and securities brokerages and lift restrictions in accounting, auditing, architectural design, and rating service.

Thresholds in education, industrial design and creation, modern logistics, testing and certification will be lowered for overseas companies.

The announcement targets various sectors including telecom, internet, culture, education and transport. 

The restrictions in rail transport equipment manufacturing, motorcycle production, fuel ethanol, and oil and fat processing will be removed for foreign investors.

Petroleum and natural gas projects involving foreign capital can now be launched after registration instead of awaiting administrative approval.

To attract more foreign investment in Tianjin the government will provide a fairer and more convenient investment environment. 

For instance, the document proposes that foreign-invested enterprises should enjoy the same policies and measures as domestic enterprises in the central government's Made in China 2025 strategy and the guidelines on developing Tianjin into a national advanced manufacturing and R&D base.

Foreign-funded companies will be encouraged to invest in high-end, smart and green manufacturing, and to develop high-end industrial chains and clusters in information technology, aeronautics and astronautics, automobiles and new energy vehicles, biomedicine and health, new energy, new materials, energy conservation and environmental protection, modern petrochemicals and modern metallurgy.

The government will also support foreign investors’ participation in infrastructure work in energy, transport, water conservation, environmental protection and other civil projects.

Tianjin will roll out preferential policies to encourage cooperation between foreign and domestic enterprises and research institutions. 

Preferential policies will also be offered to high-end oversea professionals and their spouses and minor children, who will enjoy more convenient services on applying for permanent residence and visas with multiple entries.

Tianjin will allow foreign firms to go public and issue bonds in the Chinese market to expand financing channels and cancel the prescribed minimum of registered capital for foreign-invested companies.

The city will also strengthen the protection of intellectual property for foreign investors and improve customs clearance efficiency with the joint efforts of the customs, harbors, airports and authorities of frontier inspection and maritime affairs.

Administrative examination and approval procedures will be simplified and the government will improve its work efficiency with the help of online platforms.

Tianjin will also foster a group of competitive industrial parks and pilot areas for global cooperation on production capacity.

The city will also grasp the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative and cooperate on key projects with international investors while encouraging private companies to cooperate with multinationals.