Shanghai unveiled its eighth edition of its action plan on Feb 5 — dubbed 8.0 — to optimize its business environment.

On the same day, the city's Putuo district launched a comprehensive initiative called the Serving Enterprises Plus action plan to improve its business services.

According to the district's investment promotion office, it rolled out its plan after it fully solicited the opinions of resident business enterprises from the end of 2024.

The action plan features the System Plus, Capacity Plus, Scenario Plus, Flow Plus and Ecosystem Plus — aiming to strengthen services for enterprises, enhance their experiences and improve the integrated mechanism for promoting investment attraction and services.

Promoting Plus in five areas

Shanghai's 8.0 action plan gives top priority to improving the experience of businesses operating in the city. Accordingly, Putuo itself highlights the Plus initiative in five areas to enhance the experiences of its companies.

System Plus:

The two-level service mode involving district officials as well as sub-district and town specialists will be expanded to a three-level mode.

Senior district officials will assume the role of chief service officers to address major issues faced by businesses.

More than 100 division-level officials from the district's responsible units for investment promotion will lead an "excellent service group" to meet the needs of key enterprises.

Under the plan, sub-district and town service specialists will form an "amiable service team" to serve over 3,700 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises based in the district.

Capacity Plus:

Puto will set up a comprehensive service team integrating "stewards, specialists and experts".

It will conduct in-depth dialogues with enterprises to fully understand their situations and requirements.

Moreover, the district will implement a system to better serve enterprises. It will preview basic situations and the main businesses of companies before visiting, learn about business management methods and industrial development trends during visits, as well as practice solving the unique problems faced by different enterprises and study to address common concerns.

Meanwhile, it will specify capability standards, establish dedicated teams and advance enterprise services — moving from businesslike responses to strategic empowering.

Scenario Plus:

The district will offer more value-added service options with Putuo characteristics for enterprises — besides implementing policies and providing services including Shanghai's service package for key enterprises.

For example, it will issue a dedicated medical card and a talent card to senior corporate executives, launch a legal toolkit and make preparations for the establishment of the city's first dispute resolutions center for the sci-tech and financial sectors.

Flow Plus:

Putuo will leverage its investment attraction and corporate services integrated platform and its three-level service mode. Consequently, it will upload information on a visit to an enterprise on the visit day, address simple matters and directly report urgent matters on the same day. It will strive to solve general matters within five days and complex matters within 15 days.

The district will improve its mechanism that coordinates service specialists, district departments, commissions, bureaus and municipal authorities to effectively handle enterprises-related matters.

It will make optimal use of digital technology to promptly update information on businesses and precisely match them to policies and services.

Ecosystem Plus:

The district will explore the construction of a new model of investment services that emphasizes "services boost investment attraction and problem-solving spurs development".

It will establish a favorable loop that links "services, feedback and optimization". This will allow business needs and challenges to directly inform policy innovation and service optimization through the service specialist mechanism and enable suggestions to be made on satisfying enterprise demands.

The district will also leverage data on the industry supply chain to assist in building a distinctive industrial cluster there. It will also promote the transition of government services from "single-direction supply" to "ecosystem co-construction".

Consolidating basic foundation for doing business

As Shanghai's 8.0 action plan emphasizes consolidating the foundations for a world-class business environment, Putuo clarifies an innovative measure in its Plus action plan — to integrate multiple government functions and offer one-stop enterprise services.

According to the district's investment promotion office, it's officially incorporated the various departments of responsible units for investment promotion into the district's corporate services system.

This is to connect front-end and back-end services and provide one-stop assistance for the development of enterprises throughout their full life cycle.

Source: Putuo district of Shanghai