Bosch, rated as the world's largest automotive parts supplier, will set up its regional headquarters in Shanghai, said a corporate executive.

Rudolf Colm, a board member of the Stuttgart-based Bosch Group and president for Asian-Pacific operations, said that Bosch has confidence in China's economic growth and the conglomerate's investment in the country would exceed one billion US dollars in the next two or three years.

A new office building is being planned to house the regional headquarters in the future, said Colm. They would also move the headquarters of Bosch (China) Investment Ltd from Beijing to Shanghai.

According to Colm, Bosch Group has so far founded 26 ventures in China, with a total investment approaching 600 million US dollars. Out of Bosch's 40 billion euros in global sale revenue last year, 1.4 billion euros are from sales in China.

Shanghai is now home to regional headquarters of 86 multinationals, the investment firms of 106 multinationals and the research and developments centers of 130 multinationals, said Zhou Yupeng, vice mayor of Shanghai. 

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2005)