Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of Outsourcing in Shanghai

   In the outsourcing industry, enterprises outsource such business as information service, application management and business process to the third-party service provider, with the purpose of reducing cost, optimizing industrial chains and sharpening its core competence. The industry not only represents a new form of international service transfer with multinationals as its main body, but also suggests a new growth point of Shanghai to develop manufacturing service industry at a fast speed. To grasp the development opportunity and accelerate forming the service economy-based industrial structure, the following opinions are hereby put forward with regard to promoting outsourcing development of Shanghai:

(I)  Knowledge of the importance of accelerating outsourcing development will be enhanced. Proactive undertaking of international outsourcing makes not only a key grip for Shanghai to bring the economy more in line with international practice and upgrade the industrial grade, but also a key channel to optimize the city’s foreign trade structure and sharpen the international competence, and an important measure to accelerate the development of manufacturing service industry.

(II) Development targets will be made clear. In the next several years, with the opportunity of accelerating international service transfer, great importance will be attached to developing international offshore business process outsourcing. The service economy-based industrial structure will be set at a faster speed. Great efforts will be made to cultivate a number of outsourcing enterprises blessed with independent intellectual property, independent brands and high value-addition capacity, build national outsourcing model areas with Pudong New Area as the representative and develop Shanghai into one of the key bases of global business process outsourcing.

(III) Development emphasis will be determined. Undertaking of multi-national offshore outsourcing will be initiated, with great efforts made to attract multi-national regional headquarters and R & D centers, which not only undertake global business process outsourcing, but also outsource to China. The existing service market will be consolidated, further transferred to hi-end service market and expanded in service space. Emphasis will be laid on developing such fields as software development outsourcing, R & D outsourcing, logistics outsourcing and financial background service。 Great efforts will be made to cultivate several local outsourcing enterprises enjoying good reputation and develop them into chief undertakers of international offshore outsourcing and chief outsourcers of domestic business process outsourcing. 

(IV) Accreditation of Shanghai outsourcing zones will be carried out. Qualified software industry bases at national and municipal levels or other industry agglomeration zones will be accredited by relevant departments under the municipal government. A number of Shanghai outsourcing zones will start construction.

(V) Spatial distribution will be optimized. Accompanying the construction of Pudong National Software Export Base, great efforts will be made to push forward the construction of Zhangjiang Software Export, Biology and Medicine and Financial Background Service Model Base, Jinqiao R & D Service Model Base, Lujiazui Information Technology Service Model Base and Waigaoqiao Information Technology and Logistics Service Model Base. Encouragement will be given to all districts and counties in their efforts to set outsourcing industry bases in qualified special industry parks or service industry agglomeration zones, develop outsourcing businesses with respective emphasis, and give full play to the industry agglomeration effects of regional characteristics.

(VI) Subsidization to outsourcing parks will be enhanced. Districts and counties offer some subsidy to headquarters and R&D centers of well-known service enterprises when they purchase land to construct or rent their office buildings. Special funds are appropriated for developing modern service industry at both municipal and district (county) levels, to support the construction of key outsourcing zones. Funds are specially earmarked to those that set up public service platforms and purchase large equipment and special software to lease to other enterprises in the zone.

(VII) National outsourcing model district will be set up proactively. With the opportunity of Overall Pilot Reform at Pudong New Area, initiative shall be taken to carry out outsourcing pilot program in both Pudong New Area and other districts. Active exploration shall be made in expanding market access in some fields, completing foreign exchange management methods and innovating talents training mechanism.

(VIII) Market access will be relaxed for outsourcing enterprises. Preferential treatment will be given to them when they apply for approval and register with the industrial and commercial administration bureau. For businesses not demanding approval, the applicant will be ratified as “engaging in XXXX via business process outsourcing” directly by the industrial and commercial department within its operation scope. As for those demanding approval, relevant departments will simplify the examination and approval procedures, accelerate the examination pace. When the applicant has received approval from relevant departments, the industrial and commercial department will ratify the applicant as “engaging in XXX via business process outsourcing” within the operation scope and hence facilitate the involved enterprise to undertake outsourcing businesses in line with international practices.

(IX) Special funds are appropriated for outsourcing enterprises. Support is given to them in their efforts to obtain R & D fund for export-oriented enterprises and international market exploration fund for small and medium-sized enterprises earmarked by the Ministry of Commerce.  The allocation of foreign trade subsidy will be adjusted and optimized, in which proportion of funds for outsourcing enterprises will be increased year by year.

(X) Outsourcing enterprises are entitled to preferential policies. Qualified local outsourcing enterprises are entitled to 36 preferential policies like accelerating the transformation process of high-tech achievement, encouraging software industry development and innovation. Local outsourcing enterprises will be subsidized by the industrial administration department when they apply for international accreditation.

(XI) Outsourcing enterprises are encouraged to hold independent IPRs. Qualified outsourcing enterprises are listed as Shanghai IPR pilots and model enterprises, with certain governmental support. Those intellectual property projects with remarkable social or economic profits will be rewarded by the government so as to inspire independent innovation with the enterprises.

(XII) Enterprises are encouraged to implement brand strategy. Those outsourcing enterprises that develop their own brands and export brands and consist with relevant national and municipal provisions, are entitled to preferential policies for export brand development funds earmarked from the foreign trade development funds. Protection is given to existing outsourcing brands that enjoy certain reputation.

(XIII) Investment and financing conditions for outsourcing enterprises will be improved.  Support is given to large and medium-sized enterprises in their efforts to restructuring assets, merger and acquisition and going public in overseas and domestic markets. Policy guarantee companies at the municipal and district (county) levels are encouraged to provide short-term loan guarantee for small and medium-sized outsourcing enterprises.

(XIV) Support will be given to enterprises to expand domestic and oversea markets. Efforts will be made to hold yearly software outsourcing summit and send outsourcing enterprises to overseas and domestic exhibitions for promotion. Existing overseas resources will be utilized and overseas students will be motivated to set up overseas outsourcing network.

(XV) High-quality internet service will be provided to the enterprises. Major telecommunications operators are encouraged to increase their bandwidth and optimize data flow, provide diversified and customized service to outsourcing enterprises and quality of internet service will be improved. Promotion and training of internet application knowledge will be carried out to help outsourcing enterprises select the most suitable internet service.