Shanghai's North Bund to develop innovation and emerging industries

The North Bund, the four-square-kilometer area in northeast Shanghai's Hongkou district, will develop innovative businesses such as shipping insurance, maritime arbitration and trade financing guarantees in the next five years, said local government officials in a press conference on Tuesday.

Emerging industries including high-end smart detection equipment, biotechnology and low-carbon development will also be the new highlights of the North Bund, which obtained approval for new construction planning from the municipal government five years ago, Li Qian, Party secretary of Hongkou district said at the press conference.

There are still eight plots of land in the core area of the North Bund awaiting development. In addition, a 4.5-kilometer aerial walkway and a 22-hectare car-free area are under construction, said Li.

As Li further explained, the North Bund underwent accelerated urban construction over the past five years. The area will enter the transformation and upgrading period in the next five years, shaping its core functions. The North Bund will see its economic growth rate further elevated, economic size expanded, and the change from old to new growth engines.

Wu Weiping, deputy governor of Hongkou district, said that investment intensity in the North Bund will be "extremely high" in the next few years. A number of municipal-level major projects, including the construction of two metro lines, will be landed in the area, which means that the district will invest about 20 billion yuan ($2.7 billion). An additional 15 billion yuan will be invested for urban renewal projects, he said.

Over the past five years, a total of 46 major construction projects were launched in the North Bund. Up to 335 major projects landed in the area, attracting more than 300 billion yuan of investment. Hongkou saw its GDP jumped by 7.8 percent year-on-year during the first quarter, thanks to the rapid development of the North Bund. The district's general public budget revenue registered an average annual growth rate of 12.3 percent over the past five years.

The North Bund has facilitated Hongkou's economic transformation, according to Li. The value of technology service industry in Hongkou has exceeded 70 billion yuan, accounting for 13 percent of Shanghai's total. The district nurtured three new unicorn companies and 407 high-tech companies over the past five years.

Hongkou's appeal to foreign capital has also been buoyed by the North Bund. More than 2,000 foreign companies from 75 countries and regions have set up operations in Hongkou, contributing nearly one fourth of the district's GDP. In 2024, the value of foreign capital landed in Hongkou spiked 35.8 percent on a yearly basis.

Meanwhile, Hongkou has attracted 104 companies' regional headquarters, among which 35 are regional headquarters of multinational companies.

Shipping and finance have become the two pillar industries in Hongkou. The district is now home to more than 4,700 port and shipping companies, accounting for nearly 70 percent of Shanghai's total transportation capacity. China's first temporary arbitration case involving foreign maritime affairs was heard and decided at the North Bund in August last year.

The financial industry contributes about 18 percent of Hongkou's GDP. Over 2,100 financial service providers, including private equities and venture capitals, have set up operations in the district, managing over 8 trillion yuan of assets.

An out-of-court center for companies' restructuring was launched at the North Bund in January 2024. The first such case was successfully carried out in March. Companies can thus optimize asset allocation in a more flexible way via out-of-court restructuring. The cluster of various asset managers and financial companies have helped the innovative move, said Lyu Ming, governor of Hongkou district.