Shanghai Daily news

A group of 56 professors and MBA students from the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development stopped by Zhabei District last week to see how the area has developed over the past few years.
William Fischer, a professor at the institute, said the group hopes to learn about the district's business potential and to see how Zhabei is dealing with post-World Trade Organization realities.
The group first visited Shanghai Multimedia Valley to explore the district's ambitious plans for the emerging industry.
About 40 companies, including the International Federation of Multimedia Association, Tuv Rheinland (Shanghai) Co Ltd, and Laboratory and Motion Magic Digital Studios, have set up offices in the valley since its recent establishment.
Besides opening its doors to digital designers and researchers, the district hopes the spacious building will accommodate multinational research and development centers and regional headquarters.
Located opposite the district's largest park, the valley will not only shift Zhabei's industries from manufacturing to high technology but also change people's life styles.
China Telecom and Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group has tested a project to broadcast TV shows over the Internet using a broadband network in the Xinmeigonghe and Guang-zhongyuan communities.
While many of the European visitors had never been to Shanghai before, they were amazed at the district's development and look at changes in Zhabei as a symbol of the whole country's development.
"My own impression of China, for the past 25 years, has been one of continuous changes. Everything that we've seen today in Zhabei District reaffirms that impression," said Fischer.
The tour also provided an opportunity for Zhabei District to attract more foreign investors.
"It is a good opportunity for us to meet so many European businessmen. We hope the tour will help them to understand the district and look forward to the chance to cooperate with them," said district Director Yin Hong.
"Foreign companies play a very important role in the district's development."
The district attracted US$110.33 million worth of contracted foreign investment during the first four months of this year, a 69.4 percent increase from the same period in 2004. Meantime, the district approved 36 foreign-invested projects, worth US$66.40 million.
High-tech manufacturing industries like IT, new material manufacturing, and electronic navigation, account for almost 40 percent of all the newly approved projects.
"Shanghai Multimedia Valley, which opened earlier this year, contributed a lot to the dramatic increase in investment," said Lei Xiaoye, vice director of the district's Foreign Economic Relations Commission.
The district is also home to many multinational companies, like Philips Corporation and Schindler Group.