Destination report China’s key corporate travel destination Shanghai
Shanghai continues to be China’s busiest hub for corporate travel, and the decision to create the country’s first free trade zone is only likely to enhance this position. Rob Gill reports
112
STROLLING ALONG the leafy boulevards of Shanghai’s French district, known locally as a ‘concession’, it’s easy to forget that you are in the modern heart of China’s most populous city. But turn the corner and you are soon back among the skyscrapers in the bustling melting pot of the country’s most important business travel destination. For all the talk of China’s secondary cities, such as Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing and so on, Shanghai’s importance as a trading hub remains paramount. Given its reputation as mainland China’s most cosmopolitan city, it’s not surprising that the government chose Shanghai for the creation of the country’s first ‘free trade zone’ (FTZ), which is a grand experiment to relax some of its stringent rules on foreign investment. The zone covers an area of 29sq km on the eastern side of the city where the Yangtse river flows into the East China Sea. But this being China, there are plenty of caveats to genuine free trade. For a start, foreign investors within the zone will only have access to 18 specified
industries, such as finance, shipping, travel agencies, healthcare and law. Investing in other sectors, including news organisations and internet cafes is prohibited.
SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS Will this bold move of setting up the FTZ herald a significant period of foreign investment in the city, and more widely across China if the pilot project is extended to other areas?
If the Shanghai experiment goes well and the Chinese authorities don’t get cold feet, the impact on business travel to China is likely to be significant. The value of business travel to China is already forecast to reach US$300 billion in 2023, up from an estimated US$145 billion in 2013, according to research by the World Travel and Tourism Council. When the project was unveiled in September, there was chatter that the ‘great firewall of China’ would be lifted in the city to allow access to currently banned websites such as Twitter, Facebook and The New York Times. This now appears not to be the case – although it’s difficult
to find a definitive answer. These websites are still inaccessible across the city – although they can be used through Blackberry networks and virtual private networks (VPNs), which disguise the user's location. International banks, such as Deutsche Bank, Citibank, and HSBC, will be among the first to set up branches in the FTZ. More than 1,400 firms have registered their interest since the zone was officially opened on September 29, 2013.
fid d fi i i Th
The development will bolster Shanghai’s importance as the key corporate travel destination in China, with many in the industry believing it will help the city
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128