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Beijing Foreign Investment Service Center (BJFISC): Common Growth and Development with Foreign-Invested Companies

2008 marks the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up. An “all-round, broad-field and multi-layer” opening-up structure has been set up. With its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has taken advantage of domestic and international resources and markets to vastly enhance its international competitiveness.

From 1978 to 2007, China received foreign investments totalling US$760 billion, ranking first among developing countries. The volume of foreign trade has increased from US$20.64 in 1978 to US$2.17 trillion in 2007, rising from the 22nd place to 3rd place in world rankings.

Look Back in History to Feel the Progress

Significant changes have occurred in every aspect of life in China. Foreign-invested enterprises have grown from nothing 30 years ago to emerging forces in the world today. The Beijing Foreign Investment Service Center (BJFISC) has been involved in fostering this process all along, and it has used its experience and wisdom to assist these firms.

In the 1990s when the Internet and Web sites began to emerge, Sohu.com tried to install a search engine on its Web site; this was a new thing for industrial regulators. To help relevant departments understand new business models and to profit from them, the service centre helped Sohu.com communicate with the authorities, which opened new virtual doors to business and regulatory approval of these practices.

CapitaLand China from Singapore has been a client of the service centre for ten years, ever since its first representative office was established in Beijing. The centre has been giving legal and policy advice to the company as it becomes more acquainted with local policies, its selection of projects and its examinations and approvals of projects. It also assisted the group in its financing of projects in Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang and Changping districts, and helped it invest in the Olympic Media Village project. By doing this, the centre not only solved the financing problem for key projects  of the government and Olympic organizers, but also helped CapitaLand to successfully begin its new projects.

The world leading consultancy Mackinsey & Company encountered many policy obstacles when it first came to Beijing. Considering the features of the company and its role in Beijing’s future development, the service centre has offered useful suggestions concerning its registered capital and location selection. After three months of efforts, the company was set up in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area. 

Highlights in the 20-year History

During its 20 years of development, BJFISC has constantly adjusted to the evolving nature of foreign investment in Beijing.

With the Beijing Municipal Foreign Investment Service Center as its precedent, the BJFISC specializes in providing “one-stop” investment services for foreign-invested companies under the BIPB, which is the municipal organ for introducing and promoting investment and business in Beijing.

The BJFISC has been providing various kinds of support and services for foreign enterprises, including most of the world’s top-500 enterprises that have offices or operations in Beijing.

The BJFISC has been providing tailored services for foreign-invested companies, according to Zhang Bing, director of the Center.

The diligent and professional high-quality service of the BJFISC has greatly contributed to the development and growth of the foreign-invested companies and has been beneficial to individual foreign investors. Along with the growth and development of foreign-invested companies already served by the BJFISC, the BJFISC has developed and grown substantially with increasingly refined professional experience and competence with the support of the BIPB and the cooperation of its many partners among foreign-invested companies.

The BJFISC provides investment one-stop services for individual foreign investors covering all aspects of the overall investment process, from project investment conception to the completion of an investment project. During this process, the BJFISC is available to provide project investment policy advice for foreign investors. It can also deliver feasibility study reports for investors and prepare project approval application reports to responsible authorities so investors can get regulatory approvals allowing projects to commence. The BJFISC can also provide high-quality project management services for investors, relying on the BJFISC’s professional team to cope with the possible difficulties for the investors during the project implementation process. Project cost management and contract management, tendering services and design management as well as coordination with the relevant competent authorities are all strengths of the BJFISC.

As the administrator of representative offices for foreign companies, BJFISC is responsible for approving, registering, recording, postponing, and changing and cancellation procedures for Beijing offices of foreign enterprises. It also provides brokerage services for Sino-foreign joint ventures, contractual joint ventures, and solely foreign-funded companies, acting as their agency in company establishment, increases or decreases in registered capital, changes of business area, addresses, names, legal persons and senior management. Foreign-invested companies can also count on the BJFISC to assist with compiling legal documents, including bilingual project plans, feasibility reports, contracts, rules and other legal documents, human resources assistance and other services.

The BJFISC has handled numerous of cases concerning foreign investment in Beijing. In 2007, the BJFISC assisted more than 50 foreign enterprises as they settled in Beijing and more than 60 enterprises with establishing their Beijing offices; it has dispatched nearly 1,000 employees to work at large foreign companies; nearly US$300 million of investment has been realized under the assistance of the BJFISC.

Common Growth with Foreign-Invested Enterprises

To provide more professional and thoughtful services, the BJFISC will communicate better with foreign investors in project consultancy, talent dispatch and other matters. It will also enhance its service qualities by attracting more highly qualified talents with overseas studying and working experiences to work at the BJFISC and improving the language ability and sense of service of its staff.

北京市外商投资企业服务中心与外商企业携手共同成长

 文/薛京晶

回顾历史，感受精彩

改革开放30年，中国的经济、社会等多个领域的发展都取得了举世瞩目的成就，发生了翻天覆地的变化。在这种历史背景下，作为中国首都的北京，其外商投资企业也经历了从无到有、从弱到强的成长过程，并且保持了蓬勃发展的良好态势。而在这背后，北京市外商投资企业服务中心（以下简称“中心”）在北京市投资促进局的直接领导和北京市政府各有关单位及各界朋友的支持下，为北京市外商企业的发展做了很多具体的工作和提供了个性化的专业服务，见证了外商投资企业在北京的成长壮大，中心主任张兵在回忆走过的道路时深有感触，他介绍说：

在搜狐公司成立之初，“网站”、“搜索引擎”在当时对于中国人来说还是属于较陌生的事物，因此政府的相关审批部门对于网站的运营模式和盈利方式要不断进行深入了解和进一步的沟通，中心根据当时的国家政策法规，从项目咨询服务专业的角度对搜狐的项目进行包装和策划，并促成了中国国家商务部相关主管部门领导与搜狐首席执行官的面谈沟通，使项目的顺利落户北京，为“海归”创业机构回国投资创造了良好的环境。

新加坡淡马锡集团的上市公司——凯德置地从1998年在北京设立代表处到投资成立北京首家外商独资房地产公司，中心已经为其提供了长达10年的专业优质服务。无论是国家利用外资的政策、项目的筛选还是具体项目的审批，中心都常年为他们提供法律政策咨询和项目综合服务，并协助该集团在朝阳区、东城区、海淀区、西城区、昌平区等多个区县寻求商业项目合作和在建项目融资。尤其是此前中心协助该集团为“北辰集团”奥运项目——媒体村融资的成功，不仅解决了当时国家重点工程的融资问题，又促成了凯德置地投资新项目的落地，达到了多赢的效果，创造了良好的社会效益。

此外，在美国麦肯锡咨询公司最初在京筹备设立分公司的时候，由于当时一些利用外资政策的限制，这家国际著名的咨询机构迟迟没有得到批复。在向中心寻求帮助后，中心从为跨国公司提供国际水平服务和产业聚集优势的角度，通过与北京市领导和各级审批部门积极沟通汇总后，提出了三条建议：一是增大投资规模，体现投资者的实力与信心，增强企业在市场上的品牌影响力。二是利用开发区政策相对灵活的优势，将公司注册在北京经济技术开发区，这样不仅可以享受到区内的优惠政策，还可以为集中在区内的跨国企业提供迅捷的服务。三是落户北京后，考虑到公司的全球发展战略以及北京的首都定位，将北京公司作为在中国区内开展业务的核心。通过中心的精心筹备和策划，这家世界知名的咨询公司3个月后在北京顺利落户。

正是由于多年来中心始终都将为中外投资者竭诚服务，用服务赢得信任作为自身工作准则，才可以最大限度实现投资者、政府和社会之间的共赢，才会一步步获得如今的声誉和地位。

20年历程，辉煌不断

在中心走过的20年历程中，始终都在不断顺应北京市外商投资发展形势的需要，与时俱进，一步一个脚印，伴随着外商企业的发展而壮大。

北京市外商投资企业服务中心是北京市投资促进局所属，负责投资服务的专业机构，其前身是1988年由北京市人民政府设立的北京市外商投资服务中心。20余年来，中心秉承北京市人民政府为投资商提供优质服务的一贯宗旨，全心全意为来北京的投资企业提供全方位周到贴心的“一站式”专业服务，并且在此过程中伴随着北京市的外商投资企业共同成长，共同发展壮大。

如今，中心已经为进驻北京的大部分世界500强企业提供了大量个性化服务，服务范围涵盖了世界多个国家和地区的多种行业和领域。从美国的麦肯锡咨询公司到欧洲的爱立信电信公司，从日本的三菱银行到新加坡的淡马锡投资公司。据张主任介绍，中心在服务过程中不断有机整合了各种内部、外部资源，为投资者和外资企业提供多种“量身定做”的专业化服务：

首先是外商投资服务，中心可以全权代理为外商投资企业设立审批、工商注册、后续服务（公安局备案、代码证书、外汇登记、税务登记等）和企业变更(增加或减少注册资本金、转股、改变经营范围、法定地址、企业名称、法定代表人和高级管理人员等的变更)服务，以及为外国企业驻京代表机构提供设立、变更手续登记和政策咨询。另外，经中国国家商务部和北京市商务局授权，为外国非企业经济组织和商会在京设立常驻代表机构承办审批、登记、注册、备案以及延期、变更和注销手续。

第二，为项目投资者提供“一条龙”的建设项目投资工程咨询服务。中心具有中国国家发展和改革委员会颁发的工程咨询甲级资质。主要骨干员工均具备丰富的国内和国际工程项目管理经验，能够为中外投资者提供项目咨询、包装、策划与实施、推介投资项目和合作伙伴等服务，涉及的领域涵盖可行性研究、项目申请报告编写、投融资分析等。此外，还可以承担项目全过程中的管理，包括建设投资项目的前期手续、招标管理、设计管理、施工管理等。

第三，档案管理服务。中心代理档案管理以及相关人事手续的办理，包括档案存放、转递，档案材料收集、归档等。接收立户企业集体存档及个人存档；出具中方员工与人事档案相关的各种证明；档案关系调入、调出，以及党组织关系调入。

第四，人才派遣服务。由中心为外资企业招聘员工，签订劳动合同后，派遣到外资企业工作。负责派遣人员的员工入职管理、工资发放、代扣个人所得税、代缴社会保险和住房公积金以及员工人事档案、商业保险、年度体检、员工离职管理、劳动政策咨询及劳动争议处理等日常人事管理。协助企业处理劳动争议，规避人事劳动纠纷，提供专业的管理来帮助企业降低风险成本。

第五，人事代理服务。包括人事代理、办理社会保险事务、住房公积金事务、人才招聘、人才培训、人才信息库、代理商业保险、劳动人事法律咨询事务全方位的服务体系等多样性服务。

第六，外商来华手续办理服务。为外籍人与港澳台人员来华就业、居留办理相关的手续和文件。包括邀请函，就业许可证，就业证和居留许可证等。

在各项服务过程中，只要是外商投资企业发展所必须的，中心都将会尽最大的努力，派出优秀的团队提供专业的服务。仅2007年，中心就帮助50余家外国投资机构在京建立起地区公司；帮助60余家企业在京建立起代表机构；派遣了1000多名员工到世界500强等大型外资企业工作；管理外资企业员工档案10000余份，服务外商投资实际投资金额近3亿美元；为十几家中外投资者完成了几十个工程咨询项目，涉及项目申请报告和可行性研究报告、建设项目管理咨询等。

回顾走过的20余年发展历程，中心先后接待了来自世界各国和地区的投资者、团组数千批次，为上万名中外投资者提供了咨询服务；为1千多家境外企业代理了常驻代表机构的申报手续；为1千余家外商投资企业的成立代办了申报手续；累积办理3万余人次外国人来华手续；2万余外企员工的档案管理；1万余人次的人才推介；协助百多位中外投资者完成了千余个项目的工程咨询，涵盖项目申请报告、可行性研究报告、投资分析报告、项目管理咨询等；为来自美国、加拿大、英国、法国、德国、荷兰、芬兰、日本、瑞士、瑞典、丹麦、意大利、俄罗斯、泰国、澳大利亚、新加坡、韩国、马来西亚等国以及中国港澳台地区的著名跨国公司提供了相关服务。

心手相牵，共续征程

站在新的历史起点，中心将在《北京市“十一五”规划》的指导下，在北京市投资促进局的直接领导下，为了更好地为外商投资企业提供专业、细致、贴心的服务，在工程咨询业务、人才派遣、项目服务、档案服务、外商投资来华手续办理等方面与外商进行充分的沟通和交流，采取了更多有力的举措，如继续完善中心内部服务质量管理和保证体系，引进具有海外学习工作背景的高端、尖端人才， 不断强化员工的服务意识、专业学习和创新工作能力，大力提高整体工作团队的服务水平，努力构建一流的外商信息工作服务平台，升级办公硬件设施，营造舒适良好的办公环境等，更好地为中外投资者提供优质、专业的服务，并且将一如既往的与外商投资者和企业心手相牵，共同发展壮大。