(Yicai Global) June 16 -- Shanghai has certified the set up of 30 regional headquarters and 10 research and development centers by several more multinational firms, including Germany’s Siemens Healthineers and Japan’s Omron, indicating that the Covid-19 outbreak has not deterred them from investing in the city or China.

Receiving certification at a presentation ceremony held yesterday by the Shanghai government were five biopharmaceutical firms, 10 smart manufacturers, three carmakers, eight trade and retail companies, seven high-end service providers, and others. Some 57.5 percent were manufacturers, while the rest were in services.

“We’re still confident in Shanghai,” said Kong Jun, general manager at Siemens Shanghai Medical Equipment, one of yesterday’s recipients. The firm has just unveiled a new strategy that aims to entirely localize its production in China, he added.

Shanghai’s two-month Covid lockdown ended on June 1 after the virus was brought back under control.

Siemens Healthineers China, the medical technology firm’s Chinese unit, unveiled a new strategy on June 9 that aims to localize all of its production in the country and deepen its innovative research and development based on market needs. With huge commercial potential and a unique market environment, China has always had great strategic importance for Siemens Healthineers, Elisabeth Staudinger, board member and Asia-Pacific regional head, told Yicai Global.

Dassault Systemes, a global software giant in the industrial R&D and manufacturing fields, relocated its Asia-Pacific HQ to Shanghai from Tokyo because it believes in the development prospects of the city and country, said Cui Haiyan, vice president of Dassault Systemes Shanghai Information Technology.

The city has an open environment and efficient services that can help Dassault attract international talent, Cui added.

Consumer goods packaging giant Amcor also chose to locate its regional headquarters in Shanghai. About 300 million Amcor packages are used every day in China, said Dong Meixu, vice president of Amcor Packaging Shanghai China, noting that with local government help the epidemic did not affect its products.

Amcor is the world’s first packaging firm to pledge to use recycled or reusable products in all packages by 2025, Dong added. The company achieved closed-loop recycling in Shanghai and will focus on using this process in more regions.

At the end of last month, the tally of multinationals with regional headquarters in Shanghai stood at 848, and there were 512 foreign-funded R&D centers.

Editor: Futura Costaglione