Shanghai attracts over 6,000 new foreign companies in 2023

Shanghai has seen steady economic growth and attracted a total of 6,017 new foreign companies in 2023, up 38.3 percent year-on-year, with an increasing number of multinational companies settling regional headquarters and R&D centers in the city, according to the economic and social development report released by the city's bureau of statistics on Thursday.

The foreign direct investment stood near $24.09 billion in 2023. Notably, the actual use of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing industry rocketed 180 percent to $2.41 billion last year.

By the end of last year, Shanghai had seen investment from 193 countries and regions. Shanghai has become home to 956 regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 561 foreign-funded R&D centers. In 2023 alone, 65 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 30 foreign-funded R&D centers have made Shanghai their new home, said the report.

In 2023, the city saw its annual GDP grow by 5 percent year-on-year to exceed 4.72 trillion yuan ($657.09 billion).

The added value of the secondary industry increased by 1.9 percent from a year earlier while that of the tertiary industry up by 6 percent annually. The added value of strategic emerging industries recorded an increase of 6.9 percent over the previous year, said the report.

In 2023, Shanghai's investment in fixed assets rose by 13.8 percent on a yearly basis. The investment in fixed assets in the tertiary sector and in the foreign-invested economy expanded by 15.7 percent and 22.3 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Moreover, a total of 535,500 new business entities were set up in the city last year, up 29.1 percent from the previous year.

Consumption continued to drive Shanghai's economic growth. In 2023, Shanghai's total retail sales of consumer goods jumped by 12.6 percent over the previous year.

The financial industry, a major strength of Shanghai's economy, showed steady growth last year. The total transaction value of Shanghai's financial market reached 3,373.63 trillion yuan in 2023, up 15 percent from a year earlier.

The total import and export volume of goods at Shanghai port was 10.66 trillion yuan last year, an increase of 2.8 percent over the previous year. Among them, imports were 4,338.35 billion yuan, up by 0.6 percent, and exports were 6,319.31 billion yuan, up by 4.3 percent.