Investment list updated

New catalogue will give foreign firms news of latest opportunities

Revisions to an industrial catalogue which helps foreign firms choose investment opportunities in China will soon be completed. According to the information from the foreign investment administrative department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC), China is making important revisions to the industrial catalogue for foreign investors ands the revisions are expected to be completed very soon.
The Chinese government issued the catalogue in June 1995 to give guidance to foreign investors about industries, which encourages, allows, restricts and forbids investment in.
The first revisions were made to the catalogue at the end of 1997, expanding the scope of industries with encouraged entrance for foreign investors and favoring China's less-developed central and western areas.
The present revisions will be made in accordance with national and world economic developments and China's expectation of becoming a World Trade Organization member. And the Chinese government will continue to revise the catalogue to accommodate national and world economic developments and in order to keep foreign investors informed.
At present there are 288 large projects that China encourages foreign businesses to invest in. Investment in these projects will enjoy preferential treatment. The majority of these projects involve at least tens of millions of US dollars.
Transport and infrastructure construction projects make up 29.8 per cent of the total number of projects, while chemical, petrochemical and electronic industries accounting for 27.2 per cent.
Until the end of April, a total of 371,778 foreign-funded companies had been registered in China, with a promised US$697 billion in investment and actual input of US$359.6 billion, according to MOFTEC.