An interpretation session organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau was held online to help overseas investors better understand the newly unveiled Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Foreign Investment, which will come into effect Nov. 1.
The session was held during a brand exchange activity between Paris and Shenzhen, where representatives of several French companies and institutions in the catering, clothing, personal care and furniture sectors attended.
The policy interpretation is expected to boost foreign brands’ confidence in opening stores and tapping the market in Shenzhen, the bureau said Friday.
The rules underscore easing foreign investment access under a “the negative list” management system and encouraging overseas investment to enter 20 strategic emerging sectors and eight industries of the future in Shenzhen, said Wang Dongxuan, an official from the city’s workstations for the protection of rights and interests of foreign-funded companies, while briefing the participants on highlights of the fresh foreign investment rules.
To further facilitate foreign investment, the regulations also include many optimizing measures in industrial premises, public services, cross-border financing, funds settlement and business operation, according to Wang.
“In a previous symposium on the legislation of the regulations, we learned that overseas firms encountered difficulties in handling operational matters, as they were unable to be present or provide original documents on-site due to the pandemic,” Wang said.
The new regulations will solve the problems by allowing foreign investors to enjoy online services and submit notarized or certified documents.
She also introduced a rack of measures targeting foreign companies’ foci, such as intellectual property rights protection, technical cooperation and dispute resolution, and listed a wide range of targeted investment services provided by the government.
“The Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Foreign Investment, Shenzhen’s first local rules in the foreign investment field, are expected to develop and bolster the city’s key industrial clusters, support multinational enterprises to establish regional headquarters in Shenzhen and benefit R&D development,” Wang said.
English version of the rules can be found in the “深圳商务” WeChat account via the link https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/OK1evoMMLxL7C6gkl3jbNw.