Lin-gang Special Area tops international standards

The Lin-gang Special Area in East China's Shanghai city last year approached or surpassed top international levels in terms of market access, construction permit handling, public facilities, acquisitions and dispute resolutions.

That's according to the findings of the2022 Business Environment Assessment Report of the Lin-gang Special Areawhich was published on Feb 6.

It shows that the three indicators of registered properties, international trade and tax payments in the special area have improved significantly. However, the tax payment indicator still has a long way to go compared with best practice in such places as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Singapore.

The special area's financial services and corporate bankruptcy indicators also score low due to the restrictions of laws and regulations, according to the report.

Recently, Shanghai released version 6.0 of its business environment optimization plan, which clearly supports Lin-gang and other key areas in forging ahead and taking the lead in development.

The plan detailed how Lin-gang wants to combine its own national strategic tasks and functional positioning. It aims to promote reforms with higher standards, a broader vision and greater efforts – to optimize the business environment and provide guidance and a demonstration model for Shanghai itself.

In the current year, Lin-gang is expected to speed up the exploration and expansion of the "one company, two sites" regulatory model and streamline things so that more enterprises enjoy much more convenient customs clearances of goods.

Meanwhile, the expansion of the Yangshan Free Trade Zone will be completed within the year, promoting the linkage development of bonded and port functions and providing a greater development space for cross-border and offshore businesses.

The special area will also promote the establishment of international arbitration institutions and explore new arbitration rules. It will also make things much easier for the development of cutting-edge industries and innovative enterprises.