In accordance with the Notice on Promulgation of the Several Policies and Measures for Expanding the Increment, Stabilizing the Stock and Improving Quality of Foreign Investment with Emphasis on Manufacturing Sector (《关于以制造业为重点促进外资扩增量稳存量提质量的若干政策措施》) (“the Notice”) jointly promulgated by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment and Ministry of Transport on 13 October 2022, the Notice supports qualified foreign-invested enterprises (“FIE”) in raising funds by listing on the Main Board, the Science and Technology Innovation Board, the Growth Enterprise Market and Beijing Stock Exchange, and listing on the Basic and Innovative Tiers of the New Third Board and issuing corporate credit bonds.

2022年10月13日，中国国家发展和改革委员会、商务部、工业和信息化部、自然资源部、生态环境部、交通运输部联合发布《关于以制造业为重点促进外资扩增量稳存量提质量的若干政策措施》（以下简称“新政策措施”），提出“支持符合条件的外商投资企业通过在主板、科创板、创业板、北京证券交易所上市，在新三板基础层和创新层挂牌，以及发行公司信用类债券进行融资。”

The Notice is a strong signal that China will promote and encourage FIE to list here. Prior to this, the policy regarding the listing of FIE in China remained unclear. Even if there are a few FIE listed in China at present, the majority of them have Chinese roots and only few numbers are wholly foreign controlled.

这个新政策措施可以视为一个强有力的信号，表明了中国将会鼓励和支持外商投资企业在中国上市。在此之前，外商投资企业在中国境内上市的政策并不十分明朗，虽然有少数外商投资企业在中国成功上市，但这些企业的大股东、实际控制人多数存在华裔背景，完全没有中国背景的外商投资上市企业是少之又少。

This new strategy also corresponds to the new request of international investment entering China. International investors that came to China in the past to establish FIE are typically well-capitalized, and their primary requirement is the Chinese market, not investment capital. Recently, numerous foreign entrepreneurs with sophisticated technology require not only the enormous Chinese market but also diverse investment funds in China, such as Angel Investment, Venture Capital, Private Equity, etc. If FIE are successfully listed in China, it will serve as a significant motivation for foreign entrepreneurs to bring their technology to China and attract investment.

与此同时，这个新政策措施也契合了当下外资进入中国市场的新诉求。早前来中国设立外资企业的外国投资者，往往自带充裕的资金，他们的主要诉求是庞大的中国市场。但近年来，一些拥有先进技术的外国企业家或创业者，他们不仅需要中国的广阔市场，也谋求在中国能够吸引各式投资，包括天使投资、风险投资、私募股权投资等等。如果外国企业家在中国设立的外商投资企业能够在中国成功上市，这将极大鼓励这些企业家将自身先进技术引入中国并获得更多投资者的青睐。

Previously, there were some legal disputes regarding whether foreign-funded enterprises may issue public shares. For instance, the Law on Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures (which has since expired) specifies that the sole acceptable organizational structure for Sino-foreign joint venture is limited liability company. Despite the fact that the aforementioned limitation of the organizational form of Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures was removed by the administrative regulation Interim Provisions on Certain Issues concerning the Establishment of Foreign Investment Limited by Shares (which is no longer in existence), there are numerous uncertainties impediments for FIE to list in China, both in terms of implementing rules and regulatory tendency.

在过去，对于外商投资企业能否公开发行股票存在一定的法律争议。例如在《中外合资经营企业法》（已失效）中规定了，中外合资企业的组织形式只能为有限责任公司，虽然《关于设立外商投资股份有限公司若干问题的暂行规定》（已失效）这一行政规章打破了中外合资企业组织形式的局限性，但不难看出，无论是从实施细则还是监管倾向，外商投资企业在中国境内上市仍存在一定的不确定性。

Today, the Law on Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures was repealed in January 2020 and replaced by the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China, which went into effect at the same time. According to Article 17 of the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China, foreign-invested enterprises can raise capital by the public issuance of stocks, corporate bonds and other securities or other legal channels.

现今，《中外合资经营企业法》已于2020年1月被废止，取而代之的是《中华人民共和国外商投资法》。根据《中华人民共和国外商投资法》第17条规定，外商投资企业可以依法通过公开发行股票、公司债券等证券和其他方式进行融资。

In addition to the legislative level, it is not difficult to observe that foreign-invested enterprises have steadily penetrated the domestic capital market. According to the holding status, there are 4,685 listed firms in China in 2021, of which 160 are foreign-owned listed companies, accounting for 3.42% of all listed companies in the end of 2021, 88 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, 71 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and 1 on the Beijing Stock Exchange. On September 30, 2022, the number of foreign-controlled listed businesses reached 170, accounting for 3.43% of all listed companies.

除了立法层面，在实践中也不难看出，外商投资企业也已逐步走进境内的资本市场。根据上市企业控股类别的数据统计，2021年中国共有4,685家上市企业，其中外商控股企业有160家，占截至2021年底，所有上市公司的3.42%，其中在上海证券交易所上市的有88家，深圳证券交易所71家，北京证券交易所1家。截至2022年9月30日，上市的外商控股企业已经达到170家，占截至2022年9月30日国内所有上市公司的3.43%。

In addition to the policy guidance mentioned above, China Securities Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Xinghai Fang delivered a speech at the 5th Hongqiao International Economic Forum, inviting high-quality foreign investment institutions to invest and expand their business in China.

Furthermore, the report of the Communist Party of China's 20th National Congress, held in October 2022, specifically proposed encouraging a high level of openness to the outside world using China's advantages. The domestic economy will attract global resource elements with a significant local circulation and strengthen the connection effect between domestic and international markets and resources.

除了上述的政策导向，证监会副主席方星海也在第五届虹桥国际经济论坛上发表演讲，欢迎优质境外资本市场机构来华投资展业。除此之外，2022年10月召开的中国共产党第二十次全国代表大会报告中明确提出：“要推进高水平对外开放。依托我国超大规模市场优势，以国内大循环吸引全球资源要素，增强国内国际两个市场两种资源联动效应。”

It is expected that the Chinese economy will continue to improve the institutional framework for opening up the capital market to the outside world, accelerate the implementation of various opening initiatives, improve the inclusiveness of China Capital Market, encourage more FIEs to list in China and attract and gather more outstanding international institutions and talents to participate in China Capital Market in near future.

可以预见，进一步完善资本市场对外开放的制度框架，加快落实各项开放举措，提高中国资本市场的包容度，鼓励更多外商投资企业在中国上市，吸引和集聚更多优秀国际机构和人才参与我国资本市场，是近几年我国经济的发展趋势。