Shanghai plans to establish a special bureau to attract enterprises directly controlled by the central government to invest in the city and will provide them with better services and favorable policies like tax rebates, a city official told Shanghai Daily .

Compared with normal state-owned enterprises, such firms are often huge and occupy a leading position in their markets, such as China Mobile or Sinopec.

"Shanghai plans to set up a division under our commission specifically to attract the central government-controlled firms to make investments in Shanghai and to better serve them," said Shao Zhiqing, vice director of the Shanghai Municipal Economic and Informatization Commission. Details are not available but may include favorable policies on tax or land costs for the firms, Shao said.

Such firms, directly managed by the State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission, are expected to bring considerable job opportunities to Shanghai.

For example, Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group, the major home-grown 3G technology developer, signed an agreement with Shanghai's government last week to co-develop the next-generation mobile industry standard and make the city a major base for third generation technology.

It was the first agreement after the city launched the policy, said Zhen Caiji, Datang Group chairman and president.

(Shanghai Daily February 10, 2009)