Business as usual for rebel Shanghai firms

31 March 1997 00:00  [Source: ACN]

IT IS business as usual at most of the 194 representative offices in Shanghai which were ordered to close earlier this month for flouting business regulations.

The Shanghai Municipality Eco-nomic Relations and Trade (Smert) commission will regard as closed representative offices which still do not comply with the regulations, said deputy director Steven Shen. But no fines will be issued to the offices which are still operating, Shen said.

Smert had ordered the closure of 194 representative offices two weeks ago. Most had failed to renew expired business permits, it said. Some representative offices were accused of engaging in trading and signing contracts with local firms, while others had made unauthorised changes to their permits, or had neglected to update personnel and address changes.

Shen said companies have to renew their permits at least 60 days prior to their expiry under the regulations. The approval process usually takes about 30 days, although it can take as little as one week if all the relevant documents are in order, he said.

A DuPont official denied press reports that DuPont had been operating without a valid permit since its three-year permit expired in 1994. She said DuPont China is renewing its permit and is operating as usual. Its other Shanghai office, DuPont China Holding, already holds a valid permit.

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