The Signing Ceremony for the Projects with Foreign Investment event was held in Shanghai on Jan 10.

Nine of the projects signed at the event involved Fortune 500 companies and 20 had investment of more than $100 million. They covered integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, automobiles, finance, medical and health care and other fields.

Some of the 60 enterprises participating in the event have been established by the Huangpu River for decades, growing step by step with the city, and will now be upgraded to become the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific region and even the "hub" of the world.

"We will blossom and bear fruit as soon as possible in Shanghai - the most ideal fertile soil (in China)," said a senior manager of one the 60 enterprises.

In 2019, Shanghai attracted 6,800 new foreign-funded projects, achieving an increase of 21.5 percent year-on -year.

In addition, contractual foreign investment reached $50.25 billion, up 7.1 percent year-on-year, while foreign investment reached $19.05 billion, up 10.1 percent year-on-year. 

The regional headquarters of 720 foreign-funded multinational companies, as well as 461 foreign-funded R&D centers, had landed in Shanghai by the end of 2019, as the city's headquarters economy took off.

In addition, the municipal government specially studied and formulated the 3.0 version of the Shanghai business environment reform plan and 32 measures to strengthen investment promotion. More and more enterprises are eager to seize the business opportunities in the city and promote their products globally.

Allergan, a Dublin-headquartered pharmaceutical company, invested $18.75 million in a medical equipment company in Shanghai in 2019.

At the signing ceremony, Allergan announced that it would establish its regional headquarters in Shanghai to integrate investment, service, operation and management so as to expand its presence in China and other countries in Asia in the long run.

Wang Wei, a representative of Allergan, said the company has benefited from Chinese consumption upgrading over the past decade and plans to launch one or two new products in China each year.

High-rise buildings and skyscrapers dominate the skyline of the Huangpu River and the Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, Shanghai on July 12, 2018. [Photo/IC]