Zhang Ping, deputy governor of Anhui, said multinational companies have played an important role in the world economy.

The top 500 companies contributed 40 to 50 percent to the world's total industrial output value, 50 to 60 percent to international trade and 90 percent of the foreign direct investment worldwide, Zhang said.

"We have to increase cooperation with these companies in order to raise our comprehensive strength and to increase our competitiveness on the international market," he said.

China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be a blessing to the province's lure of multinational companies, the deputy governor said.

Anhui will gradually open the sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, trade and tourism. It will also explore new channels to use foreign funds, he said.

The province will also provide an improved market system after the WTO accession. "This includes a more complete and transparent legal system, more open markets and more efficient administrative practices.''

With an aim to open up to more multinational companies in Anhui, the province, together with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, plans to hold a forum on Anhui Development and Cooperation with Multinational Companies in the city of Huangshan on October 22-23.

A large number of government officials, celebrities and leaders from large multinational companies are expected to attend the forum.

The deputy governor has noted that Anhui's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of 10.4 percent during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), more than two percentage points higher than the national average.

The province's GDP is expected to grow 8.5 percent in the next five years from 2001 to 2005, also higher than the national average, Zhang said.

"The vast business opportunities and gradual improvement in the investment environment will be very attractive to multinational companies,'' he said.

Some multinational companies including German's Siemens and ABB and Japan's Hitachi have already invested in Anhui.

In 2000, 247 foreign companies set up joint ventures or opened branches in the province, 48 more than the previous year.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Anhui reached US$318 million in 2000.

The inflow of FDI not only helped increase investment in fixed assets, but also helped usher in advanced equipment and technology, as well as up-to-date management methods, said Zhang Liqun, a senior research fellow with the Development Research Center under the State Council.

The province will be able to attract more FDI after the coutry becomes a member of the WTO, Zhang said.

(China Daily 10/11/2001)