“Negative List” has always been a highlight topic since the establishment of Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ). When the negative list was firstly introduced in September 2013, it was fairly long and disappointing many foreign investors. On June 30 2014, the Shanghai Municipal Government published the much-anticipated Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) on Foreign Investment Access into the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Click here for list details.
Compared to the prior version, the 2014 Negative List reduces the range of industries and activities in which foreign investment is either restricted or prohibited. Overall, the revised Negative List reduces the number of restricted industries to 139 from 190. The majority of these changes are focused on the categories of (C) Manufacturing and (G) Transportation, Warehousing, and Postal Services, and to a lesser extent (F) Wholesale & Retail. Many of the reductions appear to result from reclassification and elimination of items which were duplicated in the 2013 Negative List. However, foreign investors are still look forward to a shorter one.
In November, the National Development and Reform Commission revised the Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (2011 edition) (“the Catalogue”), working together with MOFCOM and other departments, and is now asking for advice from the public. You can log onto http://www.ndrc.gov.cn to put forward your opinions. The new Catalogue may help Negative List become shorter. In addition, the Ministry of Commerce is actively seeking the expectations and “wish list” items from the business community and will use the information to consult with other regulators. With negotiation between authorities, the “negative list” would be expected to be further revised and shortened.
