Lingang Observation | A large number of companies are safely and efficiently going global, as Lingang accelerates building an "important stepping stone"

As a leader in global lens manufacturing, Shanghai Conant Optical Technology Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Conant Optical,” 02276.HK) began its expansion into Southeast Asia two years ago, driven by considerations such as avoiding trade barriers, reducing overall costs, and ensuring supply chain security, which are crucial for the company’s future development direction.

“The entire process of building a production base is actually far more complex than simply going overseas to acquire a company,” said Conant Optical’s Chief Financial Officer Xu Huyin previously to a reporter from The Paper (www.thepaper.cn). However, this company, registered in Shanghai Lingang, established a production base in Thailand just seven months after planning its overseas expansion.

“This is just a microcosm of the services provided by the Lingang New Area for enterprises going overseas.” At a recent exchange and networking event for supporting enterprises in the Lingang New Area, Yang Zhengwei, a member of the Party Working Committee and Executive Deputy Director of the Management Committee of the Lingang New Area, provided a set of data: since its establishment, the Lingang New Area has continuously empowered enterprises to venture abroad, and to date, 520 non-financial foreign direct investment projects have been filed, with a total filing amount reaching $8.2 billion.

“A large number of companies have achieved safe and efficient overseas expansion through Lingang.” Yang Zhengwei mentioned that behind this is the Lingang New Area’s efforts in three aspects: building a cross-border service matrix to achieve efficient resource allocation; leveraging the unique advantages of offshore cross-border functions to empower overseas enterprises; and cultivating open industrial clusters to create a global resource allocation hub.

It is worth mentioning that to achieve efficient resource allocation, the country’s first comprehensive “going out” service platform was officially launched in Lingang in June 2024. According to The Paper’s reporter, after a year and a half of systematic cultivation and functional construction, the platform has completed two major phases of initial exploration and system construction, with the physical service hall serving enterprises over 3,000 times, establishing 49 branches nationwide, and collaborating with more than 80 overseas organizations to form an integrated national service network covering the globe.

“We are well aware that going overseas is never a solo adventure; every step, from policy connection, capital flow to legal compliance and market expansion, may encounter challenges.” Regarding the original intention of establishing this platform, Yin Jun, Director of the Financial Trade Office of the Lingang New Area Management Committee, believes that gathering dispersed resources, simplifying complex processes, and providing professional services at the doorstep to build a one-stop, comprehensive, and specialized overseas full-chain service is essential to achieving tangible results that enterprises can see and touch.

At the aforementioned exchange event, the Lingang New Area Foreign-related Center, as the physical upgrade carrier of the “going out” comprehensive service platform, held an entry ceremony, with institutions such as Bank of China, China Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance, HSBC Jin Ke, Yingtian Overseas Consulting, Taihetai Law Firm, Huayi Law Firm, Yiman Law Firm, U&I GROUP, TC GROUP, Xiangzhe Intelligent, and Shanghai Yingyu Information Technology collectively entering.

The Lingang New Area Foreign-related Center is located in Dishui Lake Financial Bay and has now gathered 38 key overseas service institutions and enterprises, creating a ten-minute foreign-related service ecosystem that can achieve “direct supply and demand, efficient connection,” providing one-stop, full-process, and high-efficiency overseas service support for enterprises in Lingang and across the country.

Taking the filing of outbound direct investment (ODI) as an example, this is the first hurdle for enterprises going abroad. It serves as both a compliance “pass” and a risk prevention “firewall.” “In the first step of going overseas, many companies often get stuck in the filing approval, which is cumbersome and time-consuming, often missing the best market opportunities.” Yin Jun candidly stated that one of the institutional advantages of the Lingang New Area is that the Management Committee has the authority to exercise administrative approval for ODI filings under $300 million, “significantly saving the time cost for enterprises and enabling them to quickly seize overseas market opportunities.”

Yin Jun added that, from a trend perspective, the number of filing projects and investment amounts have been steadily increasing each year, displaying three distinct characteristics: the investment entities are of higher quality, key industries are more prominent, and investment areas are more extensive. Among them, the proportion of new applications for first-time filings exceeds 60%, and the proportion of new enterprise projects from outside the Lingang area exceeds 10%. This indicates that more and more enterprises are willing to choose Lingang as their launching point for overseas expansion.

Jia Jixiang, General Manager of Shanghai Xiangzhe Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xiangzhe Intelligent”), one of the enterprises entering the Lingang New Area Foreign-related Center, also shared his experience of settling in. This place has gathered many foreign-related service institutions, achieving efficient collaboration with “upstairs and downstairs,” “which greatly reduces communication and time costs.”

This company, established in the Lingang New Area in 2020, discovered during its overseas inspection last year that there is a more pronounced demand in the small home appliance market in Southeast Asian countries compared to the smart conference and other information services previously offered by the company. “Southeast Asian countries have a large population base and their economies are developing, so local residents have updated demands for small home appliances.” Jia Jixiang mentioned that through e-commerce platforms and social media, sales data and market demands are continuously rising, “We see this as a growing market and an opportunity.”

Expanding from Lingang, this small enterprise has chosen the Indonesian home appliance market as its first overseas stop and has currently launched its own brand, Metori, in Indonesia, with plans to gradually penetrate the Southeast Asian market. “Relying on China’s supply chain and local operational advantages to enhance brand influence, we aim to establish Metori as a label for Chinese home appliance brands going overseas, becoming a small home appliance brand with significant influence in Southeast Asia.”

Such cases will become increasingly common. According to The Paper’s reporter, the professional services and policy empowerment of the Lingang New Area “going out” comprehensive service platform have already yielded fruitful results in the overseas practices of many enterprises, covering various fields such as energy, manufacturing, technology, medical care, and logistics.

In the energy resource sector, Zhongman Petroleum secured large overseas contracts, solidifying its global oil and gas resource layout; Haixu Sheng Electric completed return investments, achieving domestic and foreign industrial collaboration. In the technology manufacturing sector, Jiangbolong completed a project acquisition in Brazil, establishing a strategic foothold in the Americas; Ailang Technology set up its first overseas MW-level wind turbine blade base in Morocco; Yanfeng International optimized its global interior business layout, enhancing resource allocation efficiency… These overseas practices from different sectors are a reflection of the Lingang New Area empowering Chinese enterprises to go “outstandingly.”

“Currently, the global economic landscape is undergoing profound adjustments, and China’s high-level opening up is advancing deeply.” Zhang Jie, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, stated at the event that as the forefront of the city’s reform and opening up, the Lingang New Area has always undertaken the special mission of testing systems and exploring new paths for the country. In terms of serving enterprises to “go out,” the Lingang New Area has been endowed with the core positioning of becoming an important springboard for enterprises to grow and expand overseas.

He emphasized the hope that Lingang can continue to play the role of a test field, not only becoming a highland for policy innovation but also a highland for professional services. “We need to closely align with enterprise needs, continuously optimize service processes, and explore the formation of a batch of replicable and promotable experiences, providing a Lingang model for the city to improve its overseas comprehensive service system.”