In what areas are overseas businessmen most welcomed to invest in Shanghai?
The principles for the encouragement of foreign investment:

Overseas businessmen are encouraged to invest in projects of:
a. energy, transportation, important raw materials, infrastructural construction and agricultural technology;
b. high-tech and new-tech to meet the demand of domestic and overseas markets;
c. renovation of old enterprises, those requiring introduction of advanced technology, helping to improve products, to economize on energy and raw materials, and to raise technological and economic efficiency or in those production that can fill up the blank in the domestic market and manufacturing new equipment and new materials in demand in the market;
d. be able to raise products to a higher standard so as to make suitable for the world market and which help expand export so as to earn more foreign exchange;
e. apply new technology and use new equipment in making rational use of resources and renewed resource;
f. real estate area by opening up tracts of land through granting land-use right or renovating dangerous houses, slums and simple structure-structure houses in accordance with the city planning and the development plan of the Pudong New Area;
g. production enterprises, import-export enterprises, entrepot trade and service industrial enterprises, such as processing, packaging, storing and consulting ones in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone.

How many forms of investment are there of a Sino-foreign joint venture?

Each party of the association can invest by means of either money or buildings, or factory buildings or machinery, or equipment or other things like materials, industrial production right, special technology and land use right. They can be evaluated in terms of money. Each party of the association cannot draw back its capital within the term of association.

Can an Equity Joint Venture or a Cooperative Joint Venture be transformed to a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise?

If permitted by the government policies, after unanimous approval by board meeting, the application should be submitted to the original approval and examination authorities according to relevant laws and regulations.

What kind of land must be obtained through the granting of land use right?

The land must be obtained by means of granting of land use right if any of the following situations occurs:

1. Land for projects of commerce, tourism, entertainment, finance, service, commercial buildings, etc.

2. The land user is overseas person, legal entity or other organizations, except for those otherwise stipulated in the law.

3. Other circumstances stipulated by laws, regulations and rules of municipal government.

4. Land obtained by means of allocation, if any of the above mentioned situations occurs, the transferee should sign a Transfer Contract with the transferor, and pay the land use right granting fee.(hereinafter referred to as "granting fee")according to relevant regulations before obtaining the land use right.

5. The collective-owned land must be converted to State-owned land before it can obtain the land use right.

Is it necessary to get the assessment from the relevant government authority when the Foreign Invested Enterprises use equipment as their capital contribution?

It is necessary for foreign investors to get approval from the government authority in case that they use equipment as capital contribution. The Commodity Inspection Bureau is responsible for assessing the value of the equipment and the Custom Office will impose import tax on the equipment on basis of the assessed value.

Can Foreign Invested Enterprises establish branches outside China?

The Foreign Invested Enterprises shall fully contribute their registered capital which is vertified by the CPA according to the Articles of Association and have started production ( or open business) for at least one year and manufacturing enterprises shall have certain volume of export before they apply to establish overseas branches including sub-company and representative office. The Foreign Economic and Cooperation Department of State Council is responsible for the examination and approval of the application to establish overseas sub-company, while the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission of Provincial level is responsible for the representative office. The Foreign Economic and Cooperation Department of State Council is also responsible for the application submitted by the enterprise whose Certificate of Approval is issued by the same department.