Small and medium Chinese enterprises (SMEs) should improve their management of intellectual capital during the financial crisis, a Chinese official said on Friday.

"The majority of Chinese entrepreneurs don't realize the true lucrative potential in intellectual capital such as intellectual property, brainpower and corporate culture," said Wang Liwen, secretary general of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Forum. Wang made the remarks while briefing journalists on the upcoming fourth Symposium on China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Entrepreneurs Exchanges.

SMEs in China, which are mainly developing labor-intensive industries, are deemed a high risk in the financial crisis because they are vulnerable to fluctuations in external demand and lacked brand consciousness, Wang said.

About 20 percent of small factories closed this year in Dongguan, the leading toy base of China's Guangdong Province. Dongguan had more than 4,000 factories and some 2,000 suppliers at its peak in 2001.

Wang pointed out that SMEs should attach more importance to intangible assets.

"Entrepreneurs should keep in mind that even when the market encounters downturn, a well-known brand or a developed management system is able to help a company survive," he said.

The fourth Symposium on China-ASEAN Entrepreneurs Exchanges will be held in Beijing on Dec. 8-9, with the theme of "Cooperation for Promotion of Intellectual Capital Management". All ten member states of the ASEAN will send officials and entrepreneurs to exchange relevant experiences with Chinese counterparts.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2008)