City gathers more multinational operation centers
27/10/2006 17:09
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
Twelve
multinational companies established their Chinese or Asia Pacific operation
centers in Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone in Shanghai yesterday, including Panasonic
Group, Hewlett-Packard Inc., and ViewSonic Inc.
The Waigaoqiao Free Trade
Zone is now home to international trade, modern logistics and manufacturing
industries. From January to September, it reported an economic added value of
49.1 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion), an increase of 16.9 percent from a year
earlier, and trade volumes of US$32 billion, up 26.5 percent from the previous
year. The sales volume was 278.87 billion yuan, up 21.3 percent from a year
before, and the logistics companies registered revenues of 128.85 billion yuan,
up 26.7 percent from the previous year.
More multinational companies are
starting to integrate their sales, sourcing, logistics, manufacturing and
R&D businesses to improve their competitiveness. In 2004, Panasonic Group
transformed its Shanghai branch into the sales and business management
headquarters of Eastern and Northern China. Panasonic's newly launched operation
center on the Chinese mainland plans to spend three to five years becoming an
East Asian center covering Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.
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