A truck driver walks in the Yangshan Deep Water Port, part of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. [Photo/Agencies] 

A total of 12 major projects valued at about 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) were signed into effect at the general meeting of the Central SOEs and Local Enterprises Integrated Development Platform Council of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone on June 28.

The projects were invested by Stated-owned enterprises include Chinalco Group, Sinochem Group, China National Nuclear Corp, China Huadian Corp Ltd, CITIC Group, China Mobile Group, China Resources Pharmaceutical Group, State Grid Corp, State Power Investment Corp Ltd, China Construction Bank, SDIC Group and China Telecom.

They signed contracts with the Shanghai Expo administration bureau, Lujiazui administration bureau, Jinqiao administration bureau and Shanghai Pudong Advanced Industry Development Co.

All projects will be built within the free trade zone and will focus on finance, trade, headquarter construction, and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.

Six projects, including a financial leasing branch of State Grid, focusing on financial leasing, investment funds and asset management, aim to provide financial technology to support the development of the real economy.

Other projects, including the trade headquarters of Chinalco Group and the city public service headquarters of Far East Horizon, will focus on the development of headquarters economy.

It was announced at the meeting that China Baowu Steel Group will succeed China Reform Holdings Co to become the new rotating director unit of the council.

Meanwhile, ten local State-owned enterprises in Shanghai were appointed as council members, forming a more intimate relationship between central and local enterprises. Among them, Shanghai Lingang Economic Development (Group) Co and Shanghai Electric Group Co are the standing director units.

At the meeting, 15 companies including China Baowu Steel Group and China Commercial Aircraft Co signed an easement contract for the SOEs headquarters base in the B area of the Expo Park.

The innovative approach will help to improve the overall utilization of the underground space and public space in the area, allowing it to remain open to the outside world, and finally achieve unified planning, design, construction and management.

It aims to make the SOEs headquarters base into a world-class high-end business area.

Moving forward, the platform will continue to improve service guarantees and make greater breakthroughs in the collaborative model of central SOEs and local enterprises.

It will better promote Pudong's reform and opening up, as well as Shanghai's high-quality development, and lend more support to national strategies such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the high-quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region and the development of Shanghai into a global innovation center of science and technology.