While delivering a government work report at the ongoing fourth session of the ninth Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Sunday, Lu said his province would welcome and encourage more overseas investors to make investments in the province's commerce, tourism, construction and transportation services.

"Overseas investors will be encouraged to participate in the reshuffle of medium-sized and small State-owned enterprises of Guangdong via such forms as stake purchases, cooperation and takeover," said Lu, who also urged the province to increase economic, technological cooperation and exchanges with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

In addition investment from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and from the United States, France, Japan and Singapore has been rising drastically over the past years.

According to Lu, the province had an aggregate inflow of US$59.8 billion of overseas investment in the ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000). In 2000 alone, US$12.24 billion of overseas funds flowed into this southern Chinese province.

Guangdong is now home to some 80,000 overseas-financed businesses.

(21dnn 02/15/2001)