Following Siemens and GE's bold decision to move their regional headquarters to Shanghai earlier this month, Motorola's energy department set up Asian Pacific Headquarters in Shanghai on July 10.

The new headquarters will be engaged in administration and production of batteries and chargers for handsets and computers and other energy products for telecommunications equipment.

"It's a natural move considering Motorola's China strategy," said Jenny Wang, vice-president of the company, adding that "China is now one of our most important production bases and research and development (R&D) centers."

The new headquarters will help Motorola operate more efficiently by getting closer to its customers and suppliers, said Brian Santoro, vice-president of the company.

Santoro noted that many handset, computer and walk-talker producers have built factories in Shanghai or its surrounding regions. Meanwhile, Motorola has stable suppliers in Shanghai, said the vice-president.

Motorola was listed No.1 in foreign-funded companies in respect of sales volume last year. According to its plan, by 2006, Motorola's output value and total investment are expected to reach10 billion US dollars. So far, more than 70 multinationals have set up their regional headquarters in Shanghai, most of which concentrate on telecommunications, logistics and transport.

Siemens plans to move its handset Asia Pacific Headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai. Heinrich Pierer, chief executive officer of Simens, considers the move a new opportunity to expand its market share in China. He has also decided to increase investment in Shanghai by 60 million US dollars to raise the handset output to 14 million from the current 10 million.

The plastic group of the General Electric (GE) will move its Asia Pacific Headquarters from Tokyo to Shanghai in the third quarter of this year.

Liu Jinping, deputy-director of the city's Foreign Investment Working Committee, attributed the new move by foreign enterprises mainly to the ever increasing importance of the Chinese market.

"It is noticeable that multinational corporations are adjusting their investment structures in China by shifting their regional headquarters to China," said Liu.

He added that Shanghai, with its special geographic position on the Yangtze River delta and its strong infrastructure and industrial base, is the obvious choice for foreign investors.

A recent Fortune survey shows over 92 percent of multinational corporations are considering setting up regional headquarters in China in the future.

The improvement of the investment environment is also important in attracting foreign investors. Consistency of policy, high-quality human resources, and an open and transparent market are the major factors influencing foreign investors' decisions making, according to local analysts.

The strict foreign exchange management system and the problems related to not being able to freely convert Renminbi into foreign currencies do pose difficulties for foreign investors, Liu said. However Shanghai is looking at measures to offset the negative impacts and to try to provide more convenience in financial services and taxes to foreign investors.

(People's Daily July 20, 2002)