The Beijing municipal government is offering preferential treatment, including large subsidies and bonuses, to lure multinational companies into either setting up or relocating their regional headquarters in the capital.
In the ongoing competition with Shanghai to establish itself as an influential financial centre in the country, Beijing is giving a one-off subsidy of 10 million yuan (HK$11.34 million) to any multinational company with a registered capital of at least 1 billion yuan that opens a regional headquarters in the city.
Those with a registered capital of less than 1 billion yuan but above 100 million yuan will receive subsidies that vary from 5 million yuan to 8 million yuan.
On top of this, one-off annual performance bonuses of 5 million yuan or 10 million yuan will be granted to the multinationals if their yearly operating income exceeds 100 million yuan or 1 billion yuan after they have set up in the capital.
The municipal government announced the scheme on its website yesterday, saying it had been in effect since the start of the year. It said the money could be used to reward senior managers for their performances with bonuses of up to 500,000 yuan a year.
Apart from the money, it is also offering residential qualifications, visas and children's education packages for senior managers of the multinationals.
Analysts said the scheme would give Beijing another shot in the arm in its competition with Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. 'These may not be the best preferential policies being offered to attract foreign investment, but they definitely put Beijing among the best,' said Zhao Hong, head of the Beijing Economic Research Institute, a municipal think tank.