China's economic hub Shanghai has just issued a white paper on the environment for foreign investment, and the paper is the first from a local government in the country.

The document was mainly compiled by the Shanghai foreign trade and economic cooperation commission and the municipal working committee for foreign investment.

The white paper describes, from six aspects, the overall environment for foreign investment in Shanghai, claiming that despite some rising costs the city remains China's prior destination for foreign capital.

It expounds several special topics, including the protection of intellectual property rights, the 2010 World Expo, comprehensive reform in the Pudong New District, the Yangshan deep-water harbor and business costs.

The white paper also unveils the findings of a survey of Shanghai in the eye of foreign investors.

Ninety percent of the foreign businesses surveyed said Shanghai was their favourite investment destination in the Chinese mainland.

More than 70 percent of the investors polled scored above 80 (with a total of 100 marks) for Shanghai's overall investment environment. And 45.1 percent saw government efficiency as the city's international competitive edge, with 56.8 percent and 69.5 percent, respectively, choosing labor force quality and infrastructure.

Vice Mayor Zhou Yupeng said such a white paper on environment for foreign investment by the local government will build a nexus between foreign companies and the government. It will help foreign investors understand Shanghai thoroughly.

According to official statistics, by the end of 2005, Shanghai had approved the establishment of nearly 40,500 foreign investment projects and attracted US$99.96 billion in contracted foreign capital, with US$59.76 billion actually used.

Last year, foreign-funded companies in Shanghai garnered approximately 1.4 trillion yuan (US$175 billion) in sales revenue, a growth of 35 percent over the previous year. Their combined profits amounted to 66.79 billion yuan (US$8.3 billion). They employed 1.55 million people, up 7.2 percent, involving 57.9 billion yuan (US$7.2 billion) in payroll.

The foreign-funded enterprises handed in 38.9 billion yuan (US$4.86 billion) in taxes, up 7.6 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2006)