More firms register in Shanghai pilot FTZ

Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong said at the International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for The Mayor of Shanghai held at the weekend that the enthusiasm given to financial services in the FTZ should be cooled down somehow at the moment. He said that financial services should work for the purpose of promoting trade rather than simply serving financial institutions.

But there is still potential for further development. Regarding the negative list released at the end of September, which bans foreign investment in 38 areas and restricts another 152, Yang added at the council that the list is very likely to be revised and shortened over time.

Active also is the property market in the FTZ. The rental of office buildings in the FTZ has risen by 207 percent compared with the beginning of the year, according to Topsur Consulting, a Shanghai-based property market information provider. Statistics provided by the CRIC research center showed that the property prices in the FTZ have been rising since April, when the local and central government started to study the plans for the FTZ.

The FTZ concept stocks, which soared before the launch of the FTZ, now seem to have cooled down. Wang Jianhui, chief economist at Southwest Securities Co Ltd, said it was usual practice for all concept stocks. He expected that some over-valued stocks such as property stocks will be adjusted to a more reasonable level.

Wang said that concept of the FTZ has not been fully demonstrated in that there are just a few stocks in the sectors of trade, logistics or property being played up. In the future, he anticipates some innovative high-technology companies and fully internationalized logistics companies will enter the zone to make the FTZ complete.

"The benefit of the FTZ is more than what we have seen so far. The FTZ is a very important attempt at reform and further opening-up. So long as the attempt is successful, the example of the zone will be applied to a possibly wider area of China," said Wang.