Shanghai is considering establishing a mechanism to bolster local outbound foreign investment, an official said yesterday.

"The mechanism will integrate Shanghai's rich resources as a financial center and as China's largest hub of regional headquarters of multinational companies," Dong Tao, vice president of the Shanghai Foreign Investment Board, said at the first Chinese Investment to the United States Conference.

"It can enhance Shanghai investors' overall competitiveness in the global market," Dong told the conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

Shanghai firms had channeled a total of US$13.5 billion capital into overseas markets by the end of last year.

Shanghai's rising outbound foreign investment mirrors the national trend. According to the Ministry of Commerce, China's non-financial outbound foreign direct investment expanded 20 percent to US$34.3 billion in the first five months of this year.