Data showed the inclusion of Lujiazui in Shanghai's free trade zone has greatly boosted the flow of investment in the past 12 months, turning the area into a hub of headquarters for multinational companies.

The sheer amount of investment Lujiazui, a financial hub in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, has been able to attract surged. In just a single year, projects valued at more than 100 million yuan ($15 million) reached 560 in 2015, four times that of the year before.

Multinational companies saw Lujiazui's potential and took advantage of preferential policies to set up regional headquarters. By the end of 2015, Lujiazui had 90 such regional headquarters, accounting for 20 percent of the city's total.

Leasing and commercial services, wholesale and retail, and finance are three major industries in Lujiazui. In the past year, the number of companies in these sectors which moved to the area increased by four percent.

System innovations also kept springing up, for instance, allowing a new reinsurance firm to deal with registration procedures before getting a business license last July.

Inaugurated in September 2013, the Shanghai FTZ was expanded in April 2015, enlarging the zone from 28.78 square kilometers to 120.72 sq km. The new areas incorporated into the FTZ include the Lujiazui Financial Area, Jinqiao Export Processing Zone and Zhangjiang High-Tech Park.