Yemeni entrepreneur Abdul Rahman (left) acquires a business certificate for his new company at the municipal administration for market regulation in Yiwu. [Photo/zgyww.cn]

Yiwu, Zhejiang province, one of the largest small commodity trading hubs in the world, is making it easier for foreign investors to register companies, local media reported on Sept 8.

"It's really easy to start a new company. You just need to apply online, visit the municipal administration for market regulation to confirm, and fill in a commitment letter…no need to submit translated materials," said Yemeni entrepreneur Abdul Rahman, who was the first beneficiary of Yiwu's foreign capital registration reform.

The reform freed foreign investors from having to submit Chinese versions of application materials and will hire qualified translation agencies to do the job for them, according to Ding Xiangnan, director of the foreign capital department.

Rahman had been operating a business with some of his friends in Yiwu for nearly 10 years when he decided to start a new company and go it alone.

"In the past, there were extra costs to translate your paperwork, and sometimes you needed to go back and forth between translation agencies and the registration window," said Rahman.

Official statistics show that as of Aug 31, the city has 8,133 foreign-invested market entities and 3,745 foreign companies, up 13 percent year on year.