Foreign companies had set up 10,380 representative offices in Beijing by the end of 2001, as an increasing number of foreign businesses moved into the Chinese market.
In 2001 alone, Beijing authorities approved 816 foreign branch offices, according to latest figures released by the Beijing Municipal Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Committee.
Of the world's top 500 companies, 159 now have branches in Beijing, and 19 have formally set up their regional headquarters here.
Approval for 1,147 foreign-funded businesses were granted by Beijing authorities in 2001 alone, while the number of foreign-funded projects with an investment of 10 million US dollars or over was 28.6 percent higher than in the previous year.
(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2002)
|