East China's Shanghai launched a total of 53 foreign invested projects with a combined investment of more than $5.4 billion on Feb 11, marking the first batch of such foreign investment for the year 2022, showcasing that Shanghai is still a hot investment destination for transnational corporations.

These projects will focus on Shanghai's main industries, with a total investment of $3.52 billion in 37 projects including biomedical, electronic information, automobile, and fashion consumer goods. A total of 19 projects will be settled in the city’s key functional districts and five new towns, which are Jiading, Qingpu, Songjiang, Fengxian and the Nanhui region in Pudong New Area. Twenty-one projects saw their respective investment amounts surpass $100 million.

Shanghai used a record $22.55 billion in foreign capital last year, according to government figures, up 11.5 percent year-on-year, and set a new high. Sixty multinational companies established regional headquarters in Shanghai last year, raising the total to 831, and such companies also set up another 25 regional research and development centers in the city, which now amount to 506. As of the end of 2021, a total of 190 countries and regions have invested in the city.

Shanghai will take advantage of the RCEP agreement and act quickly to implement the new negative list for foreign investment now that the agreement has taken effect. Efforts will also be made to promote the opening-up of the service sector, and optimize a business environment that is market-oriented, rule-based and internationalized, making Shanghai a preferred destination for foreign investment, and a gathering place for high-quality foreign companies in the new era.