A total of more than 310 Fortune 500 companies have invested in Shenzhen
During a press conference held in Guangzhou on October 24, Wu Kunsheng, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, emphasized that Shenzhen is committed to leveraging its two major platforms, Qianhai and Hetao, to continuously enhance its “big investment” strategy. He explained that the city is fostering what he calls “sincere engagement and active outreach” to improve its efforts in attracting and retaining investments. To date, Shenzhen has attracted over 310 Fortune Global 500 companies.
Wu shared impressive statistics highlighting Shenzhen’s investor appeal from January to August this year. A total of 95 countries and regions have invested in the city, resulting in the establishment of 5,033 new foreign-funded enterprises, which accounts for approximately 13.6% of the national total. Furthermore, 471 investment projects have been launched in Shenzhen, with a total intended investment amounting to 242.5 billion yuan, representing a remarkable year-on-year growth of 52%.
He also noted that Shenzhen is steadily expanding its open institutional framework, focusing on a policy system that enhances trade and investment, facilitates capital flows, improves transportation, encourages personnel exchanges, and supports data mobility. The city aims to act as a base, platform, and hub to better serve both domestic and international circulation. Wu reported that Qianhai has launched a total of 835 innovative institutional achievements, with 94 of these being duplicated and promoted nationwide. Qianhai has maintained its position as a leader in the national free trade zone innovation index. Meanwhile, Hetao is adopting a dual approach of institutional and technological innovation, implementing distinct management of research goods, cross-border regulation of research funds, and initiating cross-border data transaction pilot programs to expedite the establishment of an internationally advanced regulatory experiment zone.
Additionally, Shenzhen is leveraging high-level platform development to enhance the continuous aggregation of various factors and to collaboratively create a development framework that ensures efficient connections along industry chains, while promoting differentiated growth and mutual benefits. Qianhai aims to build itself into a high-level open gateway and hub, working towards the “8+3+18” model for high-quality development. This includes attracting eight key categories of “global service providers,” establishing three international high-quality development platforms, and constructing 18 industrial clusters to form a robust modern service industry ecosystem.
Hetao, on the other hand, is intent on establishing itself as a world-class research hub by collaborating with Hong Kong to pool high-quality innovation resources and major platforms. Notable facilities such as the Bay Area sub-centers for drug review and inspection by the National Medical Products Administration, as well as the Digital Economy Research Institute for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, have been established in Hetao. Furthermore, five universities from Hong Kong, including the University of Hong Kong, have set up physical research institutes there, while companies like China Resources, Apple, and Starbucks have established research and development centers, facilitating the swift gathering of international high-end research resources.
