Business / Economy

Shanghai FTZ 'negative list' may be cut by 40% to boost more interest

By Wu Yiyao in Shanghai (China Daily) Updated: 2014-03-25 07:16

Yang Xiong, Shanghai's mayor, said two concerns stood out. "One concern is the list is too long. Another is how to secure its transparency," said Yang.

Shanghai FTZ 'negative list' may be cut by 40% to boost more interest

Regulator clarifies details of FX rules for FTZ

Shanghai FTZ sees more liberalization

Zhou said the 2014 version of the negative list should clarify some of the restrictions to investors. Shanghai's pilot free trade zone will liberalize more services as well as ease a threshold for foreign capital in emerging sectors this year as it continues with its economic upgrading, said Jian Danian, deputy director of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration.

"Further liberalization of service sectors, including senior care, architectural design, accounting and auditing, e-commerce and film production, is among the priorities for the pilot zone this year," Jian said.

The administration also plans to lower the threshold for foreign investment in emerging industries such as marine engineering equipment, aerospace manufacturing and new energy, he said.

As many as 23 measures for reforming the FTZ's service sector were introduced in 2013 and, so far, 22 have been implemented. The only one not introduced yet is the restricted license bank.

Zheng Yang, head of the Shanghai Financial Services Office, said that a new batch of details for FTZ financial reforms will be introduced soon, including some that are designed to facilitate convenient exchanges for investment and financing.

According to a note from Haitong Securities, enterprises and investors should have fresh confidence in the FTZ as policy relaxations in the zone accelerate and favorable conditions boost trade.