The first version of the Shanghai free trade zone's "negative list", of sectors that are off-limits to foreign investors in the zone, will soon be released, officials said on Sunday.

The list will cover 18 fields divided into 1,069 sectors, and include 190 special regulatory measures, said Dai Haibo, deputy director of the FTZ's management committee.

"The negative list is a pilot market entry system for foreign investments, and it will be updated every one or two years," Dai said at an afternoon news conference after the free trade zone officially began operating. The list will be published on the Shanghai municipal government's website later, Dai added.