Foreigners will be able to fully own an e-commerce business in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, according to an official circular.

Foreign investors can have a 100 percent shareholding in an e-commerce business, the Ministry of Industry and Information said in the online circular on Jan 13.

In a circular issued in Jan 2014, the ministry and Shanghai government allowed foreign investors to invest in seven categories of value-added telecommunication service businesses, including e-commerce, in the FTZ. But they said foreign investors could hold no more than a 55 percent shareholding in an e-commerce company in the FTZ.

In April 2014, the ministry issued guidance for foreign investors to set up value-added telecommunication service businesses in the FTZ.