Lingang’s inclusion in Shanghai Free-Trade Zone a chance for Beijing to conduct bold reforms
- Market observers want breakthroughs in policies related to talent and taxation to spur the development of the area and hope to see detailed operating guides are implemented soon
Shanghai’s move to replicate a mini-Hong Kong style free marketplace after it included a 119.5 sq km untapped area at Lingang into its free-trade zone is a step in the right direction analysts say, but they caution more needs to be done to create a flourishing zone that can pose a real threat to the region’s established financial centre.
The renewed effort to turn the six-year-old Shanghai free-trade zone into a boomtown to showcase China’s economic might reflects Beijing’s resolution in opening up the mainland market amid its trade war with Washington and ongoing protests in Hong Kong over a now-suspended extradition bill.
“It can be interpreted as an opportunity for Shanghai to boldly conduct liberalisation to make the city’s FTZ a real investment magnet for domestic and foreign investors,” said Zhou Qinggang, chief executive of Chongming Kaixin Farm, an agricultural and entertainment company looking to expand in the newly included free-trade zone area. “We want to see some substantial progress in the development of the 119.5 sq km territory.”
Lingang is an area reclaimed from the sea which is located at the southeast tip of Shanghai and connected to the city’s Yangshan deep water port by the 32km Donghai Bridge.