Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

A TOTAL of 20 enterprises have been recognized as trade headquarters enterprises in Shenzhen, as Zhang Feimeng, director of the city’s commerce bureau, conferred plaques and certificates to them at a ceremony Thursday.

The first batch of trade headquarters enterprises included State-owned, private and foreign-funded enterprises that engage in domestic wholesale and retail, international trade in goods and services, logistics and warehousing, and platform-based business.

Among them were Walmart (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Vanguard Co. Ltd., Optima Integration Group, Eternal Asia Supply Chain Management Ltd., and Shenzhen Fusen Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd.

In 2021, the 20 enterprises recorded a total revenue of more than 800 billion yuan (US$114.88 billion) and had over 450 branches outside Shenzhen.

Among them, three platform enterprises had over 66 million registered members, according to the bureau.

The enterprises’ trade varieties included bulk commodities, agricultural products, integrated circuits, high-tech products and consumer goods.

In May 2022, Shenzhen officially launched the application of trade headquarters enterprises to reinforce the role of consumption in driving the economy, promote the development of leading traders, enhance global resource allocation and help Shenzhen accelerate the building of an important global business center.

To promote quality trade development, Shenzhen will issue an implementation plan for promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade to comprehensively optimize relevant policies and measures, according to the bureau.

The application for the identification of trade headquarters enterprises for 2023 is now open. Eligible enterprises can log onto the bureau’s official website  at http://commerce.sz.gov.cn for guidelines.

Official data showed that Shenzhen’s imports and exports hit 3.67 trillion yuan in 2022, an increase of 3.7% year on year.

Shenzhen has been constantly optimizing its business environment to help enterprises prosper.

In addition to recognizing trade headquarters enterprises, Shenzhen has also identified three batches of multinational corporations that had set up their regional headquarters in the city as of September 2022. The corporations included Walmart, Vanguard, Kareway Health and PwC, according to the bureau.

What is a trade headquarters firm

SHENZHEN’S trade headquarters enterprises refer to headquarter institutions established in the city by domestic and foreign enterprises with a single or comprehensive trade functions, such as procurement, distribution, marketing, settlement, logistics, etc.

They consist of traditional trading enterprises and platform trading enterprises engaged in matching transactions or providing supporting services based on information technology, such as the internet.