Shanghai ranks first at provincial level, and even leaves such metropolises as London and Tokyo behind, in terms of one particular metric: Number of businesses owned per thousand residents. The figure for Shanghai is 77 per thousand residents.

Until recently, however, entrepreneurs had cause to sigh over the procedure of setting up a business.

When starting a business, they may well have asked themselves:

Could the procedures be further simplified?

Could the processing time be further shortened?

Could the services be further improved?

The procedures for starting a business in Shanghai were not simple at all.

According to the World Bank’s “Doing Business” report, it took 7 procedures and 22 days to start a business in Shanghai.

What is the solution?

To address the issues found in the research and surveys, the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce (SHAIC) has aligned itself with advanced international standards and led in the establishment of the Single-Window Service, a service platform for starting businesses.

With the Single-Window Service in place, government information regarding starting a business is now interconnected. All government departments will thus receive the application information in a synchronized manner and coordinate their efforts in processing the application. The service platform has gone a long way in expediting the processing of various approval procedures. An applicant can complete the whole application process at one time by going through the Single-Window Service, thus dispensing with duplication of effort.

The most conspicuous change is that the time needed to start a business has been shortened from 22 days to only 5 days – that’s one business week!

Procedures vastly simplified  

The business name pre-approval and business license granting procedures have been combined into one procedure by the industry and commerce authority. Business name applications are handled under the "Negative list" management mode, where no personal presence is needed. Moreover, the Public Security Bureau has canceled the application for Permit for Seal Engraving: after the applicant obtains their business license, they can immediately select a seal engraving shop online.

Time shortened

All government departments have dramatically shortened the approval process time. For example, the industry and commerce authority has shortened its process from 8 days to 3 by amalgamating two procedures, while the tax authority has shortened its process from 10 days to just 1.

Services more convenient

The Single-Window Service is not only a business application platform, but also a provider of many convenient services. During the process of starting a business, the applicant can be kept informed of the application’s progress via text message or phone calls. Furthermore, the applicant can make his own choice of bank branch for account opening and bank staff will contact the business later.

Haiyu (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd, a company registered in Songjiang District, obtains the first business license issued through the Single-Window Service in Shanghai

The whole process has been simplified as follows:

In the Morning

The authorized representative with the industrial park acting on behalf of the company arrived at the Songjiang District Administrative Service Center. The representative entered the basic information of the company under the guidance of the Market Supervision Bureau officers.

14:20 in the afternoon

The business license was printed out after the online submission of an application.

As Haiyu’s case shows, the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce has made exemplary efforts to optimize the business environment. All the other government departments are also expected to align themselves with the highest international standards to further enhance the city’s attractiveness, creativity and competitiveness.