The first cross-region branch business license issued after electronic application in Jiangsu province is issued in Qidong, Nantong on Dec 1. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Gao Hao, administrative department head of Shanghai Electric Blower Factory Co Ltd, obtained a business license for the company's Qidong branch in the Qidong administrative approval bureau on Dec 1. It was the first cross-region branch business license electronic application handled in Jiangsu province.

The business license, equivalent to the "identity card" of an enterprise, is indispensable for handling business changes, taxation and other matters. Currently, the electronic business license is superior to the physical one in terms of efficiency, cost and experience.

In a bid to promote electronic business license applications and access to government services via one website in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, the Jiangsu provincial market supervision administration provided guidance for the Nantong and Qidong bureaus as pilots on using the cross-province electronic business license application process.

In the past, registering a branch in a new city required submission of dozens of paper materials signed and sealed by the Shanghai head office for distribution to relevant departments. Even though applying online, people still had to mail or deliver paper materials to the local government, which was time-consuming, according to Gao.

"Now, we only need to prepare materials according to the list, apply on the YRD 'access via one website' platform, then complete an electronic signature using the electronic business license of the head office," Gao said. "It takes only about half an hour to apply for the business license for a company branch, which is much more convenient."