SHANGHAI, THE BECOMING
THING Services seen as key to
future
SHANGHAI - According
to a development research center, part of
Shanghai's municipal government, the city will
further improve its industrial structure and give
priority to development of modern service
industries in the coming five years.
Shanghai will base growth
of a modern service industry on a "digitization
drive", and also put the financial and logistics
sectors high on the development agenda for the
2006-10 period. Over the next five years, the city
plans to build itself into an information-service
center, home to international information-services
groups, and one of the telecommunications hubs for
the whole Asia-Pacific region.
The
research center predicted that the information
sector in Shanghai would realize 100 billion yuan
(US$12.4 billion) in value-
added output by 2010. The
financial sector expects to realize 150 billion
yuan in output value, or more than 10% of the
city's gross domestic product (GDP). The logistics
sector will claim another 10% of the local economy
by then, with annual container turnover reaching
25 million TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units) and
annual air cargo turnover at 3.2 million tons.
Between 2006 and 2010, Shanghai will build
a group of digital cultural bases and parks and
speed up the development of education, training,
sports and entertainment. The cultural industry is
expected to generate 50 billion yuan in
value-added output annually. Major expansions are
also anticipated in Shanghai's
exhibition-business, tourism and community
services sectors. By 2010, the city expects to
organize 400 international exhibitions and 1,000
international conferences each year.
As
part of Shanghai's efforts to boost the service
sector, an association of modern service
industries was established at the end of last
year, covering the financial, logistics, commerce,
real-estate, information-services and exhibition
sectors.
Services sector
promoted Last autumn, Shanghai Mayor Han
Zheng remarked at the 17th International Business
Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of
Shanghai that the city would step up its efforts
to develop a modern services sector to enhance its
global competitiveness and transform itself from a
manufacturing-based to a services-based economy.
He said that to become an international
economic, financial, trade and shipping center,
the city will speed up construction of functional
clusters in both urban and suburban areas and
foster a number of large and competitive service
groups. Priority will be given to financial
services, logistics and information technology
sectors, said the mayor.
Long Yongtu,
secretary general of the Boao Forum for Asia,
endorsed Han's efforts. Long said developing a
modern services sector will help upgrade
manufacturing industries, and create more jobs for
rural residents. He encouraged the city to develop
retailing, logistics, tourism, entertainment and
catering industries.
To develop a modern
services sector, Long believes Shanghai should
integrate resources throughout the Yangtze River
Delta region. "Shanghai should take the lead in
breaking the restrictions of administrative
divisions, allowing a free flow of goods, capital
and labor," he said. Long also called for the
breaking of boundaries separating administratively
divided industries, including air, land and sea
transport, calling for the three transport systems
to be better integrated to achieve higher
efficiency.
Another aspect Long and other
business leaders emphasized was a better
environment. Developing a modern services sector
requires a transparent and predictable legal
framework and high-quality administration. Samuel
Dipiazza, chief executive officer of
PricewaterhouseCoopers, noted that a fair and
properly enforced legal and regulatory environment
is very important for a city wanting to attract
high-level service organizations.
As
China's economic hub, Shanghai has taken the lead
in the development of a modern service sector.
When the council first opened in 1989, the added
value of the city's tertiary industries accounted
for less than 30% of its GDP. Now it makes up
nearly half the city's GDP, while in urban areas
the proportion reaches 70%.
