(Yicai Global) Jan. 25 -- China's east coast city of Shanghai will encourage more multinational firms to open regional headquarters as part of plans to become a hub for the country's Belt and Road Initiative, local media outlet the Shanghai Daily cited the municipal finance bureau as saying.

Local authorities will bring in new fiscal policies to support a new round of opening-up to boost services, manufacturing, consumer and culture sectors, it added, without going into detail on how it would entice more overseas firms.

Often compared with the ancient Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. It is a grand 30- to 40-year plan for a vast infrastructure and trade route boasting a major network of railroads, highways, ports and pipelines embracing the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. Singapore, with its highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure, sits at a key strategic point.

More than 600 multinational firms have set up regional headquarters in Shanghai as of the end of July last year, including 416 research center.

Shanghai's general public budget revenue will be CNY710.8 billion (USD112 billion) this year, a seven percent expansion compared to actual revenue in 2017, while budget expenditure will be 782 billion yuan, a 3.6 percent rise. The bureau expects fiscal revenue to rise slower than last year's 9.1 percent due to tax cuts and a high base.

Shanghai became China's first city to have a gross domestic product of more than CNY3 trillion (USD466 billion) last year as its economy expanded 6.9 percent. The city averaged an annual 7.1 percent in the last five years.