Shanghai's Changning district has rolled out a set of new measures aimed at strengthening innovation capacity and specialization among headquarters enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The policy will take effect from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2026. It is designed to foster the headquarters economy, promote the high-quality development of SMEs, and support the modernization of industrial foundations and supply chains.

Key points of the policy include:

I. Boosting the development of headquarters

1. Clustering multinational headquarters

• Multinational companies are encouraged to establish regional headquarters, sales centers, settlement centers, investment centers, and management centers in Changning.
• Headquarters recognized by national or Shanghai authorities will receive financial support in accordance with the updated Measures of Shanghai Municipality to Manage the Fund for the Development of Regional Headquarters of Multinational Companies.

2. Attracting headquarters institutions in different categories

• Changning supports various headquarters institutions, including regional headquarters of MNCs and trade-oriented headquarters. Entities recognized at the municipal level will receive policy support.

3. Promoting enterprise upgrade

• Enterprises upgraded to regional headquarters of MNCs or trade-oriented headquarters will be eligible for support.

4. Encouraging corporate innovation

• Foreign-invested enterprises undertaking innovative projects with significant demonstration effects will gain support following comprehensive evaluation.
• Eligible projects include those involving research and development, new technology applications, new business models, new business formats, new sector expansion, industry-academia-research collaboration, and participation in the formulation of international or national standards.

5. Expanding foreign investment

• Upon verification by the Ministry of Commerce, enterprises with new or additional paid-in foreign capital of at least $5 million within the same year may receive assistance. Investments in real estate, financial, and quasi-financial projects are excluded.

6. Supporting innovative enterprises and service projects

• Eligible innovative enterprise headquarters will receive district-level support of up to 3 million yuan ($420,000)
• Enterprises approved for Shanghai's development guiding fund program for the service sector will receive district-level funding.

II. Building a discriminating cultivation system and optimizing enterprise services

7. Promoting innovation-driven development

• SMEs focusing on niche markets with strong innovation capacity and growth potential are encouraged to develop into innovation-driven SMEs or specialized, high-end and innovation-driven SMEs offering distinctive products or services. Eligible enterprises, including national-level "Little Giant" enterprises recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as well as municipal- and district-level specialized and innovation-driven SMEs, may receive support of up to 500,000 yuan.

8. Bolstering enterprise technology centers

• SMEs establishing technology centers will receive up to 200,000 yuan for district-level recognition, up to 1 million yuan for municipal-level recognition, and up to 1.2 million yuan for national-level recognition.

9. Encouraging "smart manufacturing spaces" and technological transformation

• "Smart manufacturing spaces" projects that align with industrial guidance will receive financial incentives of up to 1.5 million yuan per project, based on the total development and construction investment, excluding land acquisition costs.

10. Supporting industrial scale-up

• Newly established enterprises will receive a one-time reward of 500,000 yuan for reaching the level of designated size within the same year.
• High-growth enterprises achieving significant year-on-year output value increases will receive a one-time reward of up to 400,000 yuan within the same year.

III. Strengthening financial support for the real economy

11. Providing interest and fee subsidies

• SMEs supported by the "Changning Enterprise Loan" will receive interest subsidies based on the People's Bank of China's annual loan market rate quoted at the beginning of the same year.
• SMEs obtaining policy-based financing guarantees through the municipal financing guarantee center will receive full guarantee fee subsidies.

12. Supporting accounting services procurement

• Small and micro enterprises in key sectors aligning with industrial guidance, registered for two years or less, and engaging in business operations, will gain support for the procurement of accounting agency services.

IV. Supplementary provisions

13. In the event of adjustments to higher-level policies, the higher-level policies will prevail.

14. A single entity mustn't receive multiple benefits for the same matter.

15. The policy shall be interpreted by Changning district's commission of commerce, commission of development and reform, and bureau of finance.

Source: Changning district government

Note: The English text is for reference only. In case of any discrepancies, the Chinese version shall prevail.