The Shanghai Lawyer
Vol. 1 , No. 02 - January 16, 2002
Shanghai is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing mega-cities in the world. It is quickly establishing itself as the leading financial and economic center of the Far East, on par with the likes of Paris and New York. The Shanghai Lawyer is a bi-weekly publication providing up-to-date newsworthy articles and legal information to professional and business persons around the world. We hope you enjoy the newsletter and welcome your comments and feedback.
Mag-lev Train Goes Forward
Two mainland banks have approved loans of five billion yuan (about USD 600 million) for a high-speed magnetic levitation train line being built in Shanghai to showcase the city's development.
The Bank of China approved a three-billion-yuan loan and the Agricultural Bank of China backed another two billion yuan, for the magnetic levitation train route that will link Shanghai's Pudong International Airport with the city's center.
The high-speed link will be the first commercial application of the technology in the world when it enters operation next year over a 33 km route. The project has gained top-level support in Beijing as Premier Zhu Rongji has been supervising the project from its inception. Mr. Zhu was said to have been impressed with the technology when he rode on the demonstration line in Germany in July.
ThyssenKrupp, part of the Sino-German consortium working on the project, has said it hoped to see the technology applied to other areas, such as Shanghai-Hangzhou and Shanghai-Beijing. Thyssen's China head, Harmut Heine, said the line had the potential to be extended to Hangzhou.
(Source: Shanghai Morning Post)
Central Business District Rents Rise 10 Percent Since Entry into WTO
After entry into WTO, rents in the 1.7 square-kilometer Lu Jia Zui financial district in Shanghai Pudong area have skyrocketed. According to statistics in Pudong area, since the end of November of 2001, the occupancy rate has risen 70 percent to 85.1 percent and rental prices have risen 10 percent. The reason is due to service organizations and large corporations at home and abroad hustling into this famous and promising business center. The future of doing business in Shanghai is very optimistic.
(Source: Jie Fang Daily)
Shanghai Essentials
If a project located in Pudong has a total investment of under USD 30 million, it must be approved by the Pudong New Area Administration Commission. If it is to be located in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, the Administrative Committee of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone must approve it. The application process for both of these administrative bodies is fairly liberal in comparison to setting up operations elsewhere. Foreign investors should thoroughly examine the processing procedures of different industrial zones before making a decision to locate and establish their operations. |
Shanghai Completes 28 Key Infrastructure Projects in 2001
The Shanghai government announced that the city completed all planned key projects for 2001 and is looking to expand infrastructure construction in the New Year.
The city has finished 28 key projects with actual investment surging to 42 billion yuan (US$5.06 billion) in 2001, a 68 per cent increase over 2000. Among the 28 projects completed were the following: the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, additional lines to the subway system, 160 kilometers of new expressway, another rail line to Jiangsu Province, three more tunnels across the Huangpu River and near completion of one more bridge across the river. These transportation links will accelerate the development of Pudong and strengthen links across the Huangpu River.
To give the metropolis more international appeal, the city has taken the issue of environmental beautification very seriously. In 2001, the city added 800 hectares of green space. The comprehensive clean up of the Suzhou Creek and other small streams have made significant progress.
In addition to funding from the government, in 2001, the city attracted 11.7 billion yuan (US$1.41 billion) investment from the private sector for infrastructure upgrading projects. Next year, construction will be on an even larger scale in terms of investment and number of projects.
(Source: Xinhua news)
First Batch of Euro Cash Shipped to Shanghai
The first batch of euro cash went into circulation in Shanghai on January 1, 2002 Shanghai for circulation. The money will be distributed to local banks dealing with foreign currencies in accordance with the stipulation of the European Central Bank.
The Shanghai Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has adopted a series of measures to ensure smooth circulation of the euro in China including training bank clerks, preparing an ample euro supply and enhancing contacts with overseas euro agent banks. The Shanghai Branch has distributed large amounts of informational materials on the new monetary system.
The euro went into circulation on January 1, 2002 replacing national currencies in 12 European Union countries.
(Source: Eastday.com)
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China Overtakes Italy as World's Sixth Largest Economy
China has snatched the sixth place from Italy in the table of the world's top economic powers. Over the 12-month period ending in September 2001, Italy's GDP was 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars, the Bloomberg news agency said, noting that this was less than the 1.2 trillion dollars cited by China's central statistics office.
Chinese authorities were quoted in a top national daily as forecasting gross domestic product for 2001 at 9.6 trillion yuan (US$1.2 trillion). However, there was some controversy since the period referred to by Chinese officials (January-December 2001) was different to the time period used by Italy, leaving some doubt whether China had actually overtaken Italy.
If the rankings are confirmed, Italy will slip to the seventh place in the table of economic powers, behind China and France, which takes the fifth place. The top four are the United States, Japan, Germany and Britain.
China, which recently joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), has averaged GDP growth of 8.3 percent in the last five years. Italy's average growth has been under 3 percent.
(Source : Bloomberg News Agency)
Taiwan Semiconductor to Set up Subsidiary in Shanghai Area
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, is considering investing in China by setting up a subsidiary, a Taiwan newspaper reported on Saturday.
The Chinese-language Economic Daily News quoted TSMC chairman Morris Chang as saying TSMC was planning to "march into China in the form of setting up a subsidiary" and would establish plants there with its out-of-date eight-inch semiconductor wafer equipment. The most likely location for the plant would be the Shanghai area, due to its highly trained workforce and developed infrastructure.
Mr. Chang made the remarks on Friday when he attended a local technology industry association's opening ceremony. However, TSMC has no timetable and estimated investment figures and would not act until after the government gave the go-ahead for such a move, the paper added. TSMC officials were not available for comment.
Although China's semiconductor industry is in its infancy, Taiwan's semiconductor makers had to move to the mainland to tap the large potential market and maintain their leadership, analysts said. TSMC has said it planned to set up a permanent representative office in China to establish its presence on the mainland. At the same time, it also plans to build six cutting-edge 12-inch wafer plants in Taiwan.
A Taiwan government committee meeting to determine whether domestic semiconductor firms can build plants in China delayed its decision last month and has not yet made a final call. A Ministry of Economic Affairs' panel of government officials, industry executives and scholars had been scheduled to decide whether to lift bans on letting local firms design, manufacture and package semiconductors in China. Taiwan forbids investment in strategic industries, such as defense, infrastructure and semiconductors, fearing economic dependence on political rival China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must eventually be reunified, by force if necessary.
Despite simmering political tensions, Taiwan businessmen have poured about US$60 billion into China - a lot of which skirted government curbs - since rapprochement began in the late 1980s, lured by low land and labor costs as well as a common language and culture.
(Source: South China Morning Post)
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