BY the end of last month, Shenzhen’s total number of business entities had grown by 5.86% year on year, reaching 4.29 million, according to official figures. This growth underscores the city’s commitment to optimizing its business environment.

Over 90% of the newly registered firms in Shenzhen this year are in the tertiary industry, which includes business services, software and information technology services, and scientific research and technical services. This trend reflects the development of Shenzhen’s modern service industries.

On June 21, three strategic work plans to further optimize the city’s business environment were released. The plans aim to further strengthen the city’s market-oriented, law-based, and international ecosystem in order to unlock the potential of business entities and boost global competitiveness.

Thanks to a measure aimed at streamlining business registration procedures, Hong Kong and Macao residents can now obtain a business license for a Shenzhen company through self-service smart terminals in their home cities. There are more than 100 such terminals across Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao, according to Shenzhen’s market supervision bureau.

This has led to a 4.66% year-on-year increase in the total number of companies in Shenzhen, which stood at 2.61 million by the end of June, official figures indicate.

Shenzhen also saw a steady increase in the number of individual businesses. By the end of June, the city boasted 1.68 million individual businesses, reflecting a 7.76% year-on-year increase, according to official figures. Thanks to government efforts, 2,140 such businesses were upgraded and converted into enterprises in the first half of this year.

Shenzhen’s “20+8” industrial cluster also saw more new entrants. According to statistics, the number of newly registered “20+8” industrial cluster companies reached 10,456 in the first two months of the year, accounting for 27.04% of newly registered companies and representing a year-on-year increase of 31.69%.

“As the business environment keeps improving, Shenzhen is poised to attract more high-quality firms, adding new momentum to the city’s high-quality development,” said Wang Xiaoyou, director of the research department at the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology.

(Liu Minxia)