Some 30,000 expatriates in Shanghai were responsible for 15 percent of the income tax collected during the first half of this year.  

Expatriates from 102 countries and regions living and working in Shanghai paid 1.6 billion yuan (US$190 million) in income tax revenue in the first six months of 2004, recent statistics show.

Since the city officially started issuing expatriate work permits on May 1, 1996, some 59,384 people have found employment here.

"We have seen a 30 percent annual increase, on average, on the work permits," said an official surnamed Sun from the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau.

By the end of September, the bureau had issued 11,106 expatriate work permits.

One out of three were given to Japanese people.

"Japanese investment always makes up the largest proportion among all foreign capital," said Sun.

Americans came in second place, taking some 11 percent, and South Koreans, about 9 percent.

The statistics showed that 90 percent of these expatriates have a university degree or above.

Approximately 70 percent work in management positions, and another 15 percent are engineers or senior engineers.

"The city now has at least 3,600 foreign general managers," said Sun.

Most work in foreign invested companies or representative agencies of foreign companies.

"Only about 13 percent of them are in non-foreign invested companies," said Sun.

"Like any big city in the world, expatriates and immigrants play a vital role in Shanghai's economic and social development," said Zhang Ziliang, researcher from the Shanghai Institute of Public Administration and Human Resources of the Shanghai Personnel Bureau.

"But there are negative impacts too, like their influence on local employment," said Zhang. "The government has realized this and taken measures to tackle it."

The city is becoming more strict in handing out work permits and residence cards to foreigners.

"The government will evaluate the qualifications of every foreigner who applies for residence or a job here, and give them a score," said Zhang.

(China Daily October 14, 2004)