Shanghai free-trade zone marks year of little progress
zoneA year after it has been established with much fanfare, the Shanghai showcase has yet to deliver on its promises of further economic reforms
Shanghai's free-trade zone will mark its first anniversary this month with little fanfare as cynics scoff at the regulators' empty promises to build it into a showcase of the mainland's buoyant economy.
When the 28.78 sq km zone in the city's Pudong district officially acquired the free-trade zone tag last year, domestic and overseas investors had high hopes.
The vision for the zone - modelled on a mini-Hong Kong - had been propelled by Premier Li Keqiang's determination to better integrate mainland businesses into the global economy.
Full convertibility of the yuan, a market-based interest rate mechanism, a loosened customary intervention and a wider range of businesses open to overseas investors were expected to be the four elements that characterise the first free-trade zone on the mainland. As such, it was dubbed the test bed for the mainland's further economic reforms.
Local officials would create a thriving investment magnet in the commercial hub and revelled in the attention that came with beating other provincial-level regions in developing the first such zone on the mainland.
Instead, the zone has been dogged by criticism after a disappointing year that has seen few of the promised liberalisations materialise.
