How to apply if a foreign-invested enterprise falls within the scope of the Negative List?

en.hainan.gov.cn

Updated: 2025-06-26

During the business setup process, if a foreign-invested enterprise is identified, through Negative List screening, as operating within sectors listed in the Negative List, it must obtain approval from the relevant industry authorities before proceeding with enterprise registration and business filing.

Go to the One-Stop Service For Investment and click on "Enterprise Name Self-Declaration" to perform a name duplication check and fill in the application for name pre-approval. After signing and submitting the form, you will receive a notification document number upon review approval.

Then click on "Enterprise Registration", select "Foreign Investment", and proceed to the Negative List screening. Choose the corresponding business scope:

(1) If the selected business scope falls under the "Prohibited" category of the Negative List, the system will prompt: "The business scope you have applied for falls under the Hainan Province Catalogue of Industries Prohibited or Restricted for Market Access (2019 Edition), and the relevant services cannot be processed."

(2) If the selected business scope falls under the "Restricted" category of the Negative List, the system will prompt that the matter must be handled offline at the Hainan provincial government service center. The enterprise must first visit the service counter at the government service center to learn about the procedures for obtaining prior approval from the competent industry authority for the relevant sector. After that, an application must be submitted to the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province for further review. Applications for projects under $1 billion will be reviewed and approved by department leadership. Applications for projects exceeding $1 billion must be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce for approval.

Once the Department of Commerce grants approval and the license is obtained, the enterprise can proceed with online enterprise registration via the One-Stop Service for Investment on the Contact Hainan platform.

Click on "Enterprise Registration", select "Foreign Investment", enter the Negative List section, and re-select the corresponding business scope. Then, follow the prompt to click on "Establish Enterprise" to begin the registration process.

Complete the basic enterprise registration information and upload the required documents. Upon submission, the data will be sent to the market supervision administration for review.

After the enterprise is successfully established, the applicant may go to the local city — or county-level market supervision administration office to collect materials such as the business license, official seals, and the foreign investment filing receipt. In Haikou and Sanya, materials must be collected at the respective city's market supervision administration.

After the enterprise is established, it may choose whether to proceed with foreign exchange registration and bank account opening as needed.

To do so, select a bank to make an appointment for both foreign exchange registration and account opening. A bank representative will contact the enterprise to complete the relevant procedures.

(3) If the enterprise falls under one of the following seven types of restricted business scopes — licensing for the production and operation of main crop seeds, issuance of Drug Manufacturing License, establishment licensing for offices of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan law firms in the Chinese mainland, preliminary review for establishment of representative offices of foreign law firms in China, preliminary review for the practicing qualification of representatives of foreign law firms in China, approval for Hong Kong and Macao permanent residents who are Chinese nationals to practice law in the Chinese mainland, and licensing for representatives of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan law firms to practice law in the Chinese mainland — the procedures can be completed online via the One-Stop Service for Investment according to the system prompt.

Click on "Apply for Prior Approval", fill in the basic information, and upload the required electronic materials.

If you choose the option "I have paper documents and will submit them at the service center", you must still complete the online submission step, and then submit the physical documents in person at the Hainan provincial government service center for review.

Once the prior approval is granted, click on "Enterprise Registration", select "Foreign Investment", enter the Negative List section, and re-select the enterprise's corresponding business scope. Then click on "Establish Enterprise" to begin the registration process.

Complete the basic enterprise registration information and upload the required documents. Upon submission, the data will be sent to the market supervision administration for review.

After the enterprise is successfully established, the applicant may go to the local city or county-level market supervision administration office to collect materials such as the business license, official seals, and the foreign investment filing receipt. In Haikou and Sanya, materials must be collected at the respective market supervision administration.

After the enterprise is established, it may choose whether to proceed with foreign exchange registration and bank account opening as needed.

To do so, select a bank to make an appointment for both foreign exchange registration and account opening. A bank representative will contact the enterprise to complete the relevant procedures.

Source: One-Stop Service for Investment in Hainan