Shenzhen unveils new incentives to attract foreign capital
Shenzhen has unveiled two new incentives to support multinational companies in establishing high-end headquarters and foreign-invested R&D centers.
These incentives are part of updated measures designed to further attract and utilize foreign investment, which took effect Jan. 1, 2026. The policy, which will remain effective for three years, comprises 22 measures across five key areas.
Under the new incentives, for regional headquarters of multinational companies — including China headquarters, Asia-Pacific headquarters, or global business division headquarters — recognized by Guangdong Province between 2025 and 2027, a one-time reward of up to 8 million yuan (US$1.1 million) will be granted if the newly added actual foreign capital in the previous year reaches US$10 million or more.
Foreign-invested R&D centers recognized by Shenzhen's foreign investment and technology authorities between 2025 and 2027 will qualify for a one-time reward of up to 1 million yuan each. If the center serves as a global R&D hub of a multinational corporation and its newly added actual foreign capital in the prior year exceeds US$10 million, an additional reward of up to 5 million yuan will be provided, bringing the total potential support to 6 million yuan. District-level governments may also introduce complementary policies.
The document encourages foreign investment in Shenzhen's advanced manufacturing, high-end equipment, next-generation information technology, and new materials. It also supports globally renowned manufacturers in setting up headquarters and R&D, design, and production operations in Shenzhen.
To create a better foreign business environment, the policy ensures foreign-invested enterprises' participation in government procurement and standard-setting, improves mechanisms for handling complaints filed by foreign investors, strengthens intellectual property protection, and reduces inspection hurdles related to foreign-invested companies.
New digital renminbi action plan takes effect Jan. 1, 2026
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has unveiled a comprehensive action plan for the next-generation digital renminbi (digital RMB), announcing that a new measurement framework, management system, operating mechanism and ecosystem formally took effect Jan. 1, 2026.
According to the plan, the future digital RMB will be a digital means of payment and circulation issued and circulated within the financial system. It will be account-based, compatible with distributed ledger technology features, and carry the legal and supervisory backing of the central bank while taking on the liability attributes of commercial banks. The PBOC said the currency will serve as a unit of account, a store of value and a vehicle for cross-border payments.
A prominent change under the new regime is the formal integration of bank-issued digital RMB into the reserve requirement framework: digital-RMB balances held by banking institutions will be counted into the deposit reserve base. Non-bank payment institutions participating in digital RMB operations will be required to maintain 100% digital-RMB margins. Wallet balances will be classified into corresponding monetary layers according to liquidity characteristics.
The PBOC defined customer holdings of digital RMB in commercial bank wallets as account-based commercial bank liabilities. The central bank said this marks a transition from the cash-like "1.0" version of digital currency toward a deposit-money "2.0" model, where bank accounts remain the basic payment unit.
Under the PBOC's Digital Currency Research Institute, a Digital RMB Operations Management Center and a Digital RMB International Operations Center will be responsible respectively for the construction, operation and protection of the central-bank-side digital RMB system and the cross-border business system.
(Cover image: Xinhua)
