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Strategies & Market Trends : HONG KONG -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stitch who wrote (1646)	5/21/1998 12:29:00 AM
From: Tom	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2951

Stitch: What the.... Was it best out of three falls, or did Mahatir have to pin Anwar for a three-count?

To: Stitch who wrote (1646)	5/21/1998 6:59:00 AM
From: MikeM54321	Respond to of 2951

Another "different" article. It is somewhat contrary to our recent discussions concerning "FDI" (Foreign Direct Investment). Read the details and see how the Chinese government (or maybe the author) put a spin on FDI. The first quote is a doozy. >>Foreign Investment Edges Up Despite Asian Turmoil "Measures taken by the Chinese Government mean that foreign direct investment in China will not fall off significantly this year," said Hu Zhaoqing, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (Moftec) yesterday. Moftec statistics indicate that, during the first four months of this year, actual foreign direct investment in China edged up 0.07 per cent from a year ago to US$11.72 billion. China approved 5,704 foreign-funded firms in the period, down 6.84 per cent from the same period in 1997. But pledged foreign investment jumped 12.24% to US$13.56 billion, Hu explained at a press conference yesterday. The statistics also show that the financial turmoil in East and Southeast Asian countries is taking its toll on China's efforts to attract foreign investment. During the period, actual foreign investment from Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Thailand plunged by 89.16%, 55.83%, 42.23% and 35.54% respectively. Direct investment from Europe and the United States also declined. However, investment surged from South Pacific island territories such as Western Samoa, the Virgin Islands and Bermuda, Moftec statistics say. The reasons for the sharp increase in investment from these islands are still unclear, said Ma Xiuhong, director of Moftec's foreign investment administration department. However, preliminary studies showed that the parent companies of firms registered in those islands and investing in China come from a variety of countries and regions. She said investment from Asian countries accounts for more than 80 per cent of the US$233.59 billion of actual foreign investment in China by the end of April. Therefore, the financial turmoil in those countries could be one reason why foreign investment in China may decline this year, Ma said. She predicted it would be hard for China to attract as much actual foreign investment as last year's US$45.2 billion, which was a very high figure. However, the timely measures taken by the Chinese Government are likely to be effective in offsetting the negative impact, Ma said. These measures include tariff breaks for imports of capital goods by foreign-funded projects in the sectors encouraged by the government. Nonetheless, she said, Moftec is closely watching the impact of the financial turmoil on foreign investment in China and will report to the State Council if any policy adjustment is needed at any time. Date: 05/20/98 Author: Gao Wei Copyrightc by China Daily << MikeM(From Florida)