Chinese enterprises drooling at nearly US$5 billion worth of procurement projects for the United Nations (UN) yesterday discussed with several senior UN officials how to become potential providers for the organization at a workshop held in Beijing.

Fourteen officials from 11 UN procurement departments gave lectures and introduced their purchase rules, as well as their latest purchasing plans.

Moreover, the officials offered a wealth of advice to the enterprises present on how to expand the supply of goods and services to UN organizations.

Statistics show that procurement volume for UN agencies totaled US$4.5 billion in 2002, and procurement volume from China only accounted for 0.71 percent, far less than 3.9 percent posted by Panama, and 3.7 percent by India, which are the top UN providers among developing countries.

Toshihiro Tanaka, deputy resident representative of the UN Development Programme China office, said there was enormous space for Chinese firms to become potential UN providers, because the UN procures a large amount of Chinese-made goods every year, but most of them were bought from a third party.

Zhao Lin, assistant manager of a manufacturing company that mainly produces tents in North China's Hebei Province, said his company was interested in doing business with the UN High Commission for Refugees, which purchases many goods from Chinese companies for the basic needs of refugees every year.

Zhao said he got a lot of useful information on regulations and procedures for UN procurement from the orientation meeting.

(China Daily October 13, 2003)