As a significant international metropolis in china, Shanghai is undoubtly the first choice for foreigners to invest, for Shanghai’s growing economy, convenient transportation and close contact with the world have been tempting the foreign investment. Then how to apply for a suitable name for your company in Shanghai? Is there any requirement to the application of a company’s name in Shanghai’s related department?

The Composition of the Name of a Foreign Funded Enterprise in Shanghai
An enterprise name is composite of four basic elements: name of administrative divisions, shop name, industry/operation characteristics and organization form. The shop name, the key element of the company name, should be made up of two or more Chinese words. The words of industry/operation characteristics should reflect the enterprise’s business scope and features.

The Main documents for Enterprise Name Pre-registration
The Enterprise Name Pre-registration from signed by all the shareholders;
The power of attorney of investors;
The legal commencing certificate of investors.

The Verification of the Enterprise Name
In order to attract more and more foreigners to invest in Shanghai, Shanghai related departments have set up some regulations and policies as follows for their convenience:
1) Any foreign businessman who has operated an enterprise listed in the World Top 500 Enterprises and wants to invest in Shanghai is allowed to name his branch enterprise with a foreign shop name or without industry.

2) Any foreign businessman who set up a branch with a register capital of more than USD 10 million is allowed to name his company without industry or using Chinese words.

3) Any foreign businessman whose investment capital accounts for 85% of the registered capital  is allowed to name his company by putting the name of administrative divisions between the shop name and the industry/operation characteristics or between the industry/operation characteristics and the organization form.

4) Any foreign businessman whose foreign funded enterprise has been approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation is allowed to use Chinese words “investment” in his enterprise name.