Shanghai releases 10 major missions on improving business environment

The municipal government of Shanghai released on Thursday a circular outlining 10 major missions to seek further breakthroughs in improving its business environment, aiming at further stabilizing employment, companies' operations and market expectations.

The evaluation methods and criteria used in the World Bank's Business Ready report must be better aligned, is one of the 10 missions. The promotion of ore reforms will also be promoted.

Meanwhile, favorable policies should be more easily accessible for companies. The city will launch an online platform via which companies can search for the applicable policies and obtain approvals. A "policy calculator" will also be introduced to explicitly explain the application conditions and scope for certain policies.

To further optimize the administrative supervision over companies, Shanghai will complete the system and functions of the supervision QR code that it was promoted across the city at the beginning of the year.

Financing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises should be lowered, while innovative financing services should be provided to these companies, according to the circular. Therefore, Shanghai will promote a speed loan action among industrial parks, which was first attempted in the industrial parks in northeast Shanghai's Hongkou district.

Companies should also be facilitated regarding bankruptcy, as this is one of the gauges in the WB reports. Higher efficiency in this aspect will help the market evolve at a faster pace, help companies with their restructuring and optimize the resource allocation in the market, according to the government circular.

10 Major Missions to Accelerate and Advance the Efforts in Optimizing Shanghai's Business Environment

1.Implement reforms to better align with the World Bank criteria for evaluating business environment

2.Improve the accessibility of favorable policies for companies

3.Optimize administrative supervision over companies

4.Establish a supervision mechanism combining credit and risk

5.Innovate financing services provided to small and medium-sized enterprises

6.Create a clear online environment for public opinions

7.Strengthen the coordinated protection and law enforcement for intellectual property rights

8.Crack down on profiteering from professional claims

9.Improve the facilitation level for companies' bankruptcy

10.Support to build a better business environment in towns