Top global companies plan more investment
(Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-19 15:00

China's Ministry of Commerce said 82 percent of the world's leading firms would increase their investment in China in the next three years, attracted by the country's rapidly growing economy.

The results were released by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the ministry, which conducted a survey of Business Week's top 1,000 global firms in the second half of last year.

The Ministry of Commerce found that 57 percent of the surveyed companies preferred sole investment to forming joint ventures in China.

In terms of product research and development, 61 percent of multinational firms interviewed said they would inject more capital into China, while 46 percent said they prefer to set up solely-funded R&D centers, according to the report.

Large international companies are mainly attracted by the country's huge markets in many industries and their high growth rates.

The report said that China's total IT market value in 2004 was estimated at US$242.4 billion, accounting for 38 percent of the IT market in the Asia-Pacific region, against a share of 30.8 percent a year earlier.

The number of cars on China's roads in 2005 will rise 30 percent year on year to 8.5 million units.

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