Shanghai FTZ starts offering registration services

SHANGHAI -- A total of 577 people applied for enterprise registration at the newly-launched Shanghai pilot free trade zone (FTZ) on Tuesday, the first day for registration, according to an official statement.

Meanwhile, 1,480 people visited the zone's service lobby asking for advice and information on Tuesday, according to the statement.

Sun Baohua, a businessman from Wenzhou city of neighboring Zhejiang province, was the first person to apply for a registration.

Sun, who owns micro-financing company, has rented a 20-square-meter warehouse in the zone as his office. He is expected to get his business license within four days.

"The financial institutions allowed to run businesses in the zone are all big companies," said Sun. "While my company caters for medium and small-sized enterprises with lower interest rates."

The Chinese government officially inaugurated the 29-square-km Shanghai FTZ on Sept 29.

Testing of a convertible yuan, wider opening of 18 service sectors, a negative list approach in governing foreign investment, among other initial steps, are expected to unleash economic potential in the zone in the coming two to three years.