Mainland China’s commerce hub is adding a new dimension to its efforts to develop its appeal as an international tourist destination – organising world-class artistic performances to attract opera lovers and musical aficionados.

Shanghai has approved another seven institutions – including IDG Capital and Brookfield – for the QFLP scheme, which allows foreign funds to buy shares in unlisted companies and launch yuan-denominated venture-capital products.

The commercial hub is offering cash awards of up to 100 million yuan (US$14.53 million) to attract manufacturing projects in key sectors such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, in a bid to reignite economic growth after China’s reopening.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng on Sunday said more economic sweeteners, such as tax cuts and government subsidies, are now in the works to address the problems faced by the city’s small businesses.

Shanghai’s economy, battered by lockdowns this year, will grow at least 6 per cent in 2023 as China’s exit from its zero-Covid policy ushers in a wave of foreign capital, according to an economic adviser.

A flare-up in Covid-19 cases is likely to cause China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry to lose 600,000 sales in the first quarter of 2023 amid disrupted production and lower demand.

In first public appearance representing the country’s cabinet, Li says China’s leadership is working to create a favourable business environment.

China is unmistakably reopening its economy by rolling back some of the toughest anti-pandemic measures. Small businesses in Shanghai are not entirely sure if this policy pivot is all good news.

The reopening of one of China’s largest amusement parks is a major step forward for Shanghai’s 25 million residents, who had to put up with stringent restrictions as authorities tried to snuff out the Covid-19 disease.

From bartering with neighbours for food to supply chain slowdowns, the five-episode feature details the wide-ranging hardships of the pandemic.

Shanghai Disney Resort has closed the US$5.5 billion Shanghai Disneyland amusement park just four days after reopening it, because of a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the city.

The service launch, following a US$5.5 billion rehabilitation of the river, comes as the mainland’s commercial hub strives to make up for ground lost during its two-month lockdown earlier in the year.

Wong’s views echoes the optimism by Bank of America and JPMorgan, whose economists and strategists said China may relax Covid restrictions sooner than expected, and that investors should buy the dip.

Alarmed shoppers – particularly the elderly – stripped shelves bare of water in shops across the city after local authorities warned a pipe cleaning operation would disrupt supply on Wednesday.

Can 1 billion yuan (US$140.5 million) of e-coupons save Shanghai’s battered retail industry? It’s peanuts, but a good start nonetheless, analysts say.

As house prices shoot up, the battered local economy should benefit as the city government fast-tracks approvals for home construction and rakes in higher proceeds from land auctions, say analysts.

Since 2020, factors such as Beijing’s zero-Covid policy, the crisis in the property sector and a huge number of lay-offs appear to have stirred up an increasing amount of self reflection among China’s young middle-class shoppers and suppressed their appetite for spending.

The initiative reflects the concerted effort by local authorities to build up the regulatory infrastructure behind the city’s artificial intelligence industry.

Shanghai officials are putting Covid-19 lockdown memories behind as they aim to achieve US$145.5 billion of industrial output in the bonded zone that connects Lingang with the Yangshan Deepwater Port.

Shanghai’s economic growth is likely to miss the 2022 target of 5.5 per cent, as the economy struggles amid a power shortage and intermittent anti-Covid policies to get back to normal.

Covid-19 restrictions dragged on the profits of Hong Kong developers in the January to June period, with declines ranging from 40.5 per cent to 58 per cent, filings with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday show.

The unprecedented heatwave in Shanghai has raised concerns about the possibility of an impending power crunch and disruption to construction work, hampering the city’s economic recovery from a two-month Covid-19 lockdown.

The city’s government sealed off a clutch of residential compounds in the southwestern districts of Minhang and Xuhui, warning residents that more new cases are likely to surface.

Shanghai and Beijing are bustling to resume art exhibitions suspended by China’s spring Covid-19 lockdowns, but some gallerists see recovery as still some way off.

The prices of high-end homes – those priced above 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million) – have shot up in Shanghai amid increasing demand for more spacious flats following the city’s two-month long citywide Covid-19 lockdown.

Boosting regional economies is expected to be a key metric in evaluating the performances of China’s local officials ahead of the important 20th Party Congress, but analysts are asking how economic growth goals can be met.

Several small businesses in China’s most developed city are looking at alternatives to deal with Covid-19 pandemic curbs that continue to affect their livelihood.

The city, walloped by a two-month Covid-19 lockdown, is pinning its hopes on infrastructure construction and fixed-asset investment to get the local economy back on track following a woeful first-half.

While 4 per cent of multinational companies said in a JLL survey that they have cancelled office space expansion plans, more than three-quarters said their leasing plans were not affected.