China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Overall Plan (State Council Notice of GuoFa [2013] No.38)

[2013-09-29 17:32:38]

To local Province-level governments, the state ministries, commissions and institutions:

The State Council has ratified the Overall Plan On China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter as the Plan) as announced below:

1. As China's one momentous decision, the establishment of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone is a major move to promote China's reform-and-open practice and of significance for the transformation of government functions, the innovation of administrative modes, and the facilitation of trade and investment.

2. Shanghai municipal government is required to well implement the Plan, involving trials of the national treatment granting prior to investment access and of the administrative mode of negative list, with further reform in the administrative approval system and enhancement in in-process and post-mortem supervisions; expansion of service-sector opening-up and financial innovation to forge a world-class free-trade pilot area with convenient investment and trade paths under efficient supervision systems in a normative legal environment; provision of relevant experiences for instruction to nationwide application.

3. The State Council is authorized to temporarily adjust China's regulations on administrative approval for their applicability to Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.
As regards any major problem with the Plan's implementation, the Shanghai government shall timely request instructions from the State Council.


The State Council of the P. R. China
September 18, 2013

China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Measures to Open Service Industry Wider

 1. Financial Service
1. Banking Service (national industry classification: J: financial industry –- 6620 monetary banking service)
Opening measures
 (1) To permit qualified foreign-invested financial institutions to set up foreign-invested banks; permit qualified Chinese nongovernmental capital and foreign-invested financial institutions to set up joint Chinese-foreign banks; if conditions are met, to permit pilot setup of restricted license banks within the Pilot Free Trade Zone. 
 (2) Under strong supervision, to permit qualified Chinese banks to run offshore business.
2. Professional Healthcare Insurance (national industry classification: J: financial industry – 6812 health & accident insurances)
Opening measures
To permit pilot setup of foreign-invested professional healthcare insurance institutions
3. Financial Lease (national industry classification: J: financial industry -- 6631 financial leasing service)
Opening measures
（1）To set no limit on minimum registered capital for single-machinery or single-vessel subsidiaries set up by financial leasing companies within the Pilot Free Trade Zone.
 (2)  To permit financial leasing companies to run commercial factoring business relating to their main business.
 
2. Shipping Service
1.    Ocean Shipping of Goods (national industry classification: G: transportation, warehousing and post industry -- 5521 ocean shipping of goods)
Opening measures
 (1) To relax the limit on foreign shareholding ratio of China-foreign joint-venture or cooperative enterprises in ocean shipping. 
 (2) To permit the non-five-star-flagged ships owned by Chinese companies to pilot the coastal carriage of import-export containers between Shanghai port and other Chinese coastal ports. 
5. International Ship Management (national industry classification: G: transportation, warehousing and post industry -- 5539 other ancillary services for water transport)
Opening measures
To permit setup of wholly foreign-owned enterprises in international ship management
 
3. Commerce-related Service
6. Value-added Telecommunication (national industry classification: I: information transmission, software and information technology service industry -- 6319 other telecommunication services, 6420 internet info service, 6540 data processing and storage service, 6592 call center)
Opening measures
Under network info security, to permit foreign-invested enterprises to run certain value-added telecommunication business, any breakthrough over regulations dependent on State Council approval. 
7. Game Machine Sale & Service (national industry classification: F: wholesale and retail industry -- 5179 other mechanical and electronic commodities wholesale)
Opening measures
To permit foreign-invested enterprises to run the production and sale of game machines, those censored by China’s cultural administrations to be permitted for domestic market. 
 
4. Professional Service
8. Lawyer Services (national industry classification: L: lease and commercial service industry -- 7221 lawyer & legal services)
Opening measures
To research for approaches to the business cooperation between China’s law firms and foreign (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions) law firms.
9. Credit Investigation (national industry classification: L: lease and commercial service industry -- 7295 Credit service)
Opening measures
To permit setup of foreign-invested credit investigation companies.
10. Travel Agency (national industry classification: L: lease and commercial service industry -- 7271 travel service)
Opening measures
To permit qualified Chinese-foreign joint travel agencies to run outbound travel business (excluding Taiwan tour)
11. Human Resources Consulting Services (national industry classification: L: lease and commercial service industry -- 7262 job consulting service)
Opening measures
 (1) To permit setup of Chinese-foreign joint human-resources intermediary agencies, the foreign shareholding to be not more than 70%; to permit service providers from Hong Kong or Macao to set up sole-proprietorship job intermediaries.
 (2) To reduce the minimum registered capital from USD 300,000 to USD 125,000 for foreign-invested job intermediaries.
12. Investment Management (national industry classification: L: lease and commercial service industry -- 7211 enterprise headquarter management)
Opening measures
To permit setup of foreign-invested joint-stock companies engaging in investment
13. Engineering Design (national industry classification: M: scientific research and technical service enterprises -- 7482 engineering investigation)
Opening measures
Regarding the foreign-invested engineering (excluding engineering investigation) enterprises serving Shanghai within the Pilot Zone, to cancel the requirements for engineering performances of the investors upon their first application for qualification.
14. Construction Service (national industry classification: E: construction industry -- 47 housing industry, 48 civil engineering industry, 49 constructional installation industry, 50 constructional decoration and other construction industries)
Opening measures
Regarding the wholly foreign-owned construction enterprises contracting Shanghai’s China-foreign joint projects, to free them from the limit on China-foreign investment ratio under those projects.
 
5. Cultural Service
15. Performance Brokerage (national industry classification: R: cultural, sports and entertainment industry -- 8941 cultural & entertainment brokers)
Opening measures
To cancel the limit on shareholding ratio of foreign-invested performance brokerage, to permit setup of wholly foreign-owned performance brokerage serving Shanghai.
16. Entertainment Venues (national industry classification: R: cultural, sports and entertainment industry -- 8911 dancing hall and entertaining activities)
Opening measures
To permit setup of wholly foreign-owned entertainment venues serving within the Pilot Zone.
 
 
      6. Social Service
17. Educational Training & Vocational Training (national industry classification: P: education -- 8291 vocational skill training)
Opening measures
 (1) To permit setup of Chinese-foreign cooperatives in educational trainings;
 (2) To permit setup of Chinese-foreign cooperatives in vocational skill trainings.
18. Medical Service (national industry classification: Q: health & social work -- 8311 general hospitals, 8315 specialized hospitals, 8330 clinics)
Opening measures
To permit setup of wholly foreign-owned medical institutions
 
Note: the above-mentioned opening measures are only applicable to the enterprises registered within China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.


Source: ETCN
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