About 90 percent of 186 questions raised by foreign companies in Shanghai at nine roundtables with the government so far this year have been resolved, the government said on Thursday.

The city's commerce commission introducedroundtableslast year to identify companies' needs and address them along with other government departments in an effort to make the city a better place for foreign investment.

Yang Chao, vice director of the commission, told city legislators during an inspection conference that while some questionsrelated to policies at national level, the city government strived to solve the rest at local level.

One example was a question from Japanese convenience store chain Lawson, which has a few hundred stores in Shanghai.

“The company asked if it was possible to have only one clerk to work overnight instead of the required two, and together with the police we gave consent and a new rule has been introduced to enable 24-hour stores with sufficient security infrastructure to have only one clerk working at night,” he said. “This saves the company a lot of labor costs.”

Among other efforts to help foreign companies in Shanghai, the government also has established constant contact with some companies to provide services when they’re in need.

“Some foreign companies which have taken judicial procedures here due to some disagreements still seek help from the government, and in this case, our commission helps them by providing them with advice from legal consultants contracted by the government,” Yang said.

The amount of foreign direct investment in Shanghai is continuing to rise, according to figures provided by the commission.

In the first 10 months of this year, Shanghai attracted 5,670 foreign investment projects and contracted US$42.1 billion of foreign investment with US$16.2 billion already invested, a 34, 16 and 12 percent rise, respectively, from the same period last year, the commission said.

It also announced a coordination mechanism to follow up foreign investment projects mentioned at meetings of top city officials and foreign companies so as to push for the projects to be realized as soon as possible.

Easier life for foreigners

Over 20 legislators took part in the conference at SAIC Volkswagen Automobile Co in Jiading District themed on the improvement of the city’s business environment. The inspection was organized by the Foreign Affairs Committee of Shanghai People’s Congress.

Gao Deyi, chairman of the committee, said life in Shanghai for foreigners had been a hot topic during the legislators’ inspection trips this year.

“We have heard complaints such as that foreigners living in Shanghai want their children to learn Chinese in school, and that foreigners have problems seeing the doctor at Chinese hospitals due to language barriers and disorientation among the crowds of Chinese patients,” he said.

Another problem, he said, is that although many websites related to Chinese services have an English version, the information on the English version is often greatly disproportionate to the Chinese version, and it doesn’t help foreigners get the up-to-date information they need.

The city’s legislators have presented an opinion in this regard to the government, and Yang said the government is expected to answer a few of the suggestions there such as how to help foreigners learn Chinese and how to help them register for hospital sessions online.