Lingang’s 15th Five-Year Plan: Offshore Business Goes Full-Scenario

2026-08-30 FTZ Setup / 自贸区落地

  • On 21 August 2026 the Lingang Special Area (Shanghai FTZ) published its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), making offshore business the centrepiece of the area’s next-stage opening.
    2026 年 8 月 21 日，《中国（上海）自由贸易试验区临港新片区发展”十五五”规划》正式发布，离岸业务成为新片区下一阶段开放的核心内容。
  • The plan calls for expanding the offshore-trade financial-services pilot from the single “offshore trade” scenario to full-scenario “offshore business” — covering offshore service outsourcing, offshore treasury management and offshore investment and financing — through “specialised companies plus open first line, controlled second line” design.
    规划提出推进离岸贸易金融服务综合改革试点扩围，通过”专营公司+一线放开、二线管住”的制度设计，把试点从单一的”离岸贸易”场景升级为覆盖离岸服务外包、离岸资金管理、离岸投融资等的全场景”离岸业务”。
  • Multinationals’ product distribution centres, commodity traders and global production processors are encouraged to set up offshore-business specialised companies in Lingang, with banks providing payment, settlement and financing support and offshore-trade stamp-duty relief available.
    规划支持跨国集团产品分销中心、大宗商品贸易商、全球生产加工企业等在临港设立离岸业务专营公司，鼓励区内金融机构提供资金支付、结算、融资服务，并可用足离岸贸易印花税优惠政策。
  • The pilot already has results: Lingang’s offshore-trade volume reached USD 32.7 billion in 2025 (+32.1%) and USD 19.4 billion in H1 2026 (+29.1%), under the “no document review, settle on instruction, settle in seconds” model.
    试点已有成绩：在”免审单、凭指令、秒结算”模式下，2025 年新片区离岸贸易规模达 327.37 亿美元（+32.1%），2026 年上半年 194.13 亿美元（+29.08%）。
  • A first corporate free-trade-zone offshore bond was issued on 13 August 2026 (Shanghai Electric’s offshore subsidiary, RMB 1.5 billion), bringing cumulative offshore-bond issuance to 17 tranches of about RMB 7.1 billion.
    2026 年 8 月 13 日，上海电气境外子公司发行 15 亿元自贸离岸债——全市场首单企业类自贸离岸债——自贸离岸债累计发行达 17 笔、规模约 71 亿元。
  • For foreign companies, the practical angle is a gateway to run global order, treasury and trade settlement from China: an offshore-business entity in Lingang can centralise cross-border treasury, financing and service-fee settlement with fast, instruction-based money flows.
    对外资企业，实操价值在于获得了”在中国境内运营全球订单、财资与贸易结算”的门户：在临港设立离岸业务主体，可依托按指令即付的资金流转集中处理跨境财资、融资与服务费结算。

Lingang’s 15th Five-Year Plan: Offshore Business Goes Full-Scenario | 临港”十五五”规划：离岸业务走向全场景

The plan and its headline direction

On 21 August 2026, the Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone released its 15th Five-Year Development Plan (2026–2030). The plan is organised around deepening higher-level opening-up with cross-border and offshore business as the focus. Its headline direction is the expansion of the offshore-trade financial-services pilot from the single “offshore trade” scenario to full-scenario “offshore business”: through a design of “specialised companies plus an open first line and a controlled second line”, the area will first develop offshore-trade financial services built on an existing base such as commodity trading, and then extend the model to more trade scenarios. Multinationals’ product distribution centres, commodity traders and global production processors are explicitly invited to establish offshore-business specialised companies in Lingang to participate in global production, sales and service activities, with onshore banks encouraged to provide payment, settlement and financing for their offshore operations, improving the free-flow convenience of funds coming from and going outside China. The offshore-trade stamp-duty relief remains available.

The offshore-finance agenda

The plan also maps a broader offshore-finance agenda: steadily exploring offshore-finance pilot business, accelerating the landing and ecosystem-building of the expanded offshore-business financial-services pilot, optimising offshore-trade financial services, developing free-trade-zone offshore bonds at a high quality, developing offshore reinsurance in an orderly way, and actively advancing treasury-centre construction. It calls for accelerating the construction of the Shanghai international reinsurance centre, using the policy convenience for investing cross-border reinsurance inflow premiums abroad, and steadily expanding the scale of non-resident M&A lending. The preferred approach is “physical agglomeration, subject restriction and account isolation” — concentrating offshore business in designated areas and entities with separated accounts, so that global financial resources can be gathered without blurring the onshore-offshore boundary.

What the pilot has already delivered

The expansion builds on a running pilot. Lingang launched the offshore-trade financial-services comprehensive reform pilot in June 2025, pioneering an offshore fund-management model of “no document review, settle on instruction, settle in seconds” — settlement that used to take three days now takes three seconds. At the 2026 Lujiazui Forum the expansion plan was announced: the pilot moves from the single offshore-trade scenario to full-scenario offshore business, covering offshore service outsourcing, offshore treasury management and offshore investment and financing, and four banks (ICBC, Bank of China, SPDB and HSBC) were licensed as the first batch of expanded-pilot offshore-business financial institutions. The numbers show the traction: offshore-trade volume in the area reached USD 32.7 billion in 2025, up 32.1%, and USD 19.4 billion in the first half of 2026, up 29.08%. On the debt side, free-trade-zone offshore bonds have accelerated: on 13 August 2026 Shanghai Electric’s offshore subsidiary issued RMB 1.5 billion of FTZ offshore bonds — the first corporate FTZ offshore bond in the market — taking cumulative issuance to 17 tranches of about RMB 7.1 billion, with banks innovating on dual-tenor structures and rolling issuance plans.

Why this matters for foreign companies

For foreign companies, the significance is a practical one: China is offering a credible location to run global treasury and trade operations from inside its borders. A multinational that sets up an offshore-business specialised company in Lingang can consolidate cross-border treasury collection, offshore M&A financing and cross-border service-fee settlement in one vehicle, with instruction-based, near-instant money movement. A global trading house can use Lingang as the booking and settlement centre for orders executed worldwide, matching the efficiency of Singapore or Hong Kong treasury hubs while keeping the China operation inside the FTZ framework. The plan’s “specialised company” concept means the vehicle is distinct from the regular onshore operating entity — it is designed for offshore activity, with the account isolation giving both sides a clear boundary.

Practical steps for interested companies

Foreign companies should weigh five steps. (1) Assess fit: the model suits multinationals with global order management, cross-border procurement or commodity trading that currently route settlement through Hong Kong or Singapore. (2) Review the vehicle design: an offshore-business specialised company in Lingang (wholly foreign-owned is permitted) with clear offshore-activity scope, and the appropriate account structure under the FTU framework. (3) Engage the licensed banks early: the four expanded-pilot banks offer the “settle on instruction” flow, and bank onboarding determines how quickly the model works. (4) Model the tax and duty picture: offshore-trade stamp-duty relief, the plan’s encouragement of treasury-centre construction and the broader FTZ incentives should be modelled together. (5) Watch the implementation notices: the 15th Five-Year Plan sets direction, but the operating rules — application conditions for specialised-company status, eligible activity lists, settlement procedures — will be detailed in implementing measures that follow; companies that position early can shape their structures as the rules land.

Sources

临港”十五五”规划：离岸业务走向全场景

规划与主攻方向

2026 年 8 月 21 日，中国（上海）自由贸易试验区临港新片区发布《发展”十五五”规划》（2026–2030）。规划以跨境和离岸为重点，深化更高水平对外开放，主攻方向是推进离岸贸易金融服务综合改革试点扩围：通过”专营公司+一线放开、二线管住”的制度设计，先发展基于大宗商品交易等既有基础的离岸贸易金融服务，再适时把管理模式扩至更多贸易场景。规划明确支持跨国集团产品分销中心、大宗商品贸易商、全球生产加工企业在临港设立离岸业务专营公司，深度参与全球性生产、销售、服务等活动；鼓励区内金融机构为其提供资金支付、结算、融资等金融服务，提升外来外去资金进出自由便利度；并继续用好离岸贸易印花税优惠政策。

离岸金融议程

规划同时勾画了更宽的离岸金融路线图：稳步探索离岸金融试点业务，加快离岸业务金融服务综合改革试点扩围场景落地与生态拓展，优化离岸贸易金融服务，高质量发展自贸离岸债，有序发展离岸再保险，积极推进财资中心建设；加快上海国际再保险中心建设，用好跨境再保险分入业务收入境外投资便利化政策，稳步扩大非居民并购贷款业务规模。实现路径是”物理集聚、主体限定、账户隔离”——把离岸业务集中在指定区域与主体、以账户隔离运行，在集聚全球优质金融要素的同时守住在岸与离岸的边界。

试点已交出的成绩单

扩围建立在已运行的试点之上。临港 2025 年 6 月率先启动离岸贸易金融服务综合改革试点，首创”免审单、凭指令、秒结算”离岸资金管理模式——过去需要三天的结算现在三秒完成。2026 年陆家嘴论坛上宣布扩围：试点由”离岸贸易”单一场景升级为全场景”离岸业务”，覆盖离岸服务外包、离岸资金管理、离岸投融资等，工商银行、中国银行、浦发银行、汇丰银行四家试点银行获授牌成为扩围后首批离岸业务金融服务机构。数据印证动能：2025 年新片区离岸贸易规模 327.37 亿美元、同比增长 32.1%；2026 年上半年 194.13 亿美元、增长 29.08%。债务端，自贸离岸债明显提速：8 月 13 日上海电气境外子公司发行 15 亿元自贸离岸债——全市场首单企业类自贸离岸债——累计发行达 17 笔、规模约 71 亿元，银行还在双期限结构、滚动发行计划上持续创新。

为什么对外资企业重要

对外资企业，意义在于一个实打实的选择：中国开始提供可信的”在中国境内运营全球财资与贸易”的落点。跨国公司在临港设立离岸业务专营公司，可在一个主体内集中处理跨境财资归集、海外并购融资与跨境技术服务费结算，资金按指令近乎实时流动。全球贸易商可以把临港作为全球订单的记账与结算中心，在保持中国业务处于自贸区框架内的同时，匹配新加坡或香港财资枢纽的效率。规划中的”专营公司”概念意味着这个载体与常规在岸经营主体相区分——专为离岸活动而设，账户隔离让两边边界清晰。

给有意企业的实操步骤

外资企业可从五步入手。（1）评估匹配度：该模式适合目前经香港或新加坡结算的全球订单管理、跨境采购或大宗商品贸易企业。（2）设计载体：在临港设立离岸业务专营公司（外资独资可行），明确离岸业务范围，并按自贸区分账核算单元（FTU）框架搭建账户结构。（3）尽早对接持牌银行：四家扩围试点银行提供”凭指令结算”流程，银行接入速度决定模式跑起来多快。（4）测算税负与成本：离岸贸易印花税优惠、规划对财资中心建设的鼓励，以及自贸区既有激励应一起建模。（5）盯住配套细则：规划定方向，但运行规则——专营公司认定条件、可开展业务清单、结算程序——将在后续实施细则中明确；提前卡位的企业可以在规则落地时按自己的结构去适配。

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