Over 500 multinationals set up regional headquarters in Shanghai

SHANGHAI - Shanghai is home to the regional headquarters of 573 multinational corporations, the Shanghai Municipal Government said Wednesday.

Thanks to the city's growing influence, 38 multinational corporations chose Shanghai for their headquarters in 2016, and 13 of them also serve as the Asia-Pacific headquarters for the companies, according to Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

The city has welcomed 13 new foreign investment companies and 12 new research and development centers of foreign enterprises this year.

In addition to creating jobs, the headquarters of multinational corporations contributed taxes of about 41.7 billion yuan ($6.06 billion) in 2015.

According to Shanghai regulations, the headquarters of multinational corporations refer to exclusively foreign-owned enterprises that have multiple functions, including management decisions, fund management, purchasing and marketing, research and development and training. Their total assets should be equal to or more than $200 million, and they should have set up at least three foreign-invested enterprises in China.