Economy
Global investors covet China's rising market
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-12 09:55
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BOAO, Hainan: Multinational corporations are more committed to China as the fast-growing market offers huge opportunities, executives said at the annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA).
China became the largest bright spot as it led the world out of the worst financial crisis since 1930s thanks to massive economic stimulus and explosive growth in bank lending.
The strong recovery has made the world's third-largest economy a buffer zone as many multinational businesses suffered heavily in most parts of the world.
This was the US accounting firm's largest investment in the global market amid the economic downturn.
"The fund was raised from our partners throughout the world who shared consensus that the money should be invested in China," Lu said.
Global investors were more concerned about returns in financial crisis, Lu said. "Money should be invested in the safest and most valuable market and China is such a market," he said.
Many overseas businesses are sponsors of the BFA, a pan-Asian forum that attracts about 2,000 political and business heavyweights and academics from Asia and around the world to a small town in south China's Hainan Province.
Deloitte has been among the sponsors for years. This helps to boost brand recognition in China, Lu said.
The financial crisis has dampened global investment, but transnational businesses still have high interests in China.
A BFA report released this weekend showed that China remained the hottest investment destination in the Asia-Pacific region despite the financial crisis.
Foreign businesses had invested nearly US$1 trillion in 680,000 operations in China by the end of 2009 and more than 480 of the Fortune 500 companies had presence in China, according the Ministry of Commerce.
Ding Lei, general manager of the Shanghai GM, said sales at the joint venture between US carmaker General Motors and SAIC group jumped 58 percent annually last year and surged 101 percent in the first quarter of the year.
"The financial crisis pushed GM to file for bankruptcy, but its sales in China are amazing," Ding said.
Guan Dongyuan, deputy president of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, said that overseas investors saw future growth opportunities in the huge Chinese market.
By the end of 2009, only 8 percent of all commercial aircraft in China were regional jets with less than 120 seats each, compared with 43 percent in the United States and 36 percent in Europe.
This means a huge potential for regional jet market in China, Guan said.
