About 50 foreigners were authorized daily to work in Shanghai commercial hub in east China during the first quarter this year, according to figures released by the city's labor and social security bureau.

The bureau granted work permits to 2,954 outlanders in the first three months of this year, an average of nearly 50 per working day and a 25-percent rise over the same 2003 period.

Some 74.7 percent of these outlanders were employed by foreign-funded firms based in Shanghai, 12.2 percent worked in Shanghai liaison offices of transnational companies and another 13.2 percent were employed by local enterprises, schools or other institutions.

Japanese took up 32.8 percent of the newly approved foreign employees in Shanghai, followed by US citizens who made up 13.4 percent and Singaporeans that accounted for 8.6 percent.

Of the foreign personnel employed, 55.4 percent of the foreigners were working in social service trade, 25.8 percent were in the manufacturing sector and 12.2 percent did liaison work at Shanghai representative offices of transnational agencies.

Most of these people were well educated with senior managerial or technical positions: 71.2 percent of them were college graduates, 16.8 percent held master's or doctor's degrees and nearly 80 percent were business executives or senior technological staff.

The Shanghai municipal labor and social security bureau launched an online application system on its website in 2002 that allows foreigners to apply for, renew or nullify their work permits.

From January to March this year, the system processed 3,713 applications and 24.2 percent of all the foreign applicants went online.

As China's economy continues to prosper, a growing number of foreigners have opted to work and live in China. Figures show that over 50,000 foreigners are hanging up their hats in Beijing alone and about 16,000 of them have obtained work permits.

Early in 2003 China issued its first batch of "green cards" to 46 foreigners living in the country, granting them three to five years residency.

Before that, foreigners living in China had to renew their residency permits each year or every six months.

(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2004)