By the end of June, $9.8 billion of the contract capital was in place, up 13.9 percent year-on-year.

In the first six months of the year, 3,247 new foreign-invested projects were established in Shanghai, up 49.2 percent year-on-year, with the commission saying technology-focused service providers had seen the biggest growth.

"The strong numbers recorded during the first half of 2019 show that foreign companies are accelerating their exploration of China by taking Shanghai as the center of all deployment," said Yang Chao, the commission's deputy director.

Data from the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics show the city has attracted $240 billion in foreign investment since reform and opening-up started four decades ago.

Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong said opening-up was the city's strongest competitive edge, and the strategy would be carried on.

"Shanghai will make continued efforts to facilitate investment and trade, which in turn promote economic globalization," he said.

"We have always embraced more international companies and capital to build a more open economic system and will continue to do so," he added.

Against that backdrop, the municipal government rolled out 30 policies late last month to encourage more multinational companies to set up their regional headquarters in Shanghai.

Over the past two decades, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche became the first multinational pharmaceutical company to build a full value chain in China, from research and development and manufacturing to sales.

A decade ago, it became the first foreign-invested company to establish its China headquarters in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, in Shanghai's Pudong district.

The medicines it produces in Shanghai supply the Chinese market and are exported to Europe and North America.