Conducted by the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Investment Work Committee, the survey showed that the 20,000 foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai made profits worth 23.3 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) last year, up 7 percent over the previous year. The profits of the Shanghai Bell Telephone Equipment Manufacturing Co. exceeded 900 million yuan (US$108 million) while those of General Motors Corporation (GM) topped 800 million yuan (US$96 million).

The rate of return on investment by the 463 foreign-funded enterprises which each invested 10 million US dollars in Shanghai, was 24.7 percent on average, higher than the 13.3 percent of other industrial firms in the city. It indicates that the 463 enterprises recouped their total investment in four years.

According to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics, the return of equity from every 100 yuan invested in Shanghai is 5.87 yuan, ranking it higher than Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Chongqing.

The annual cost of labor in Shanghai averages 39,600 yuan, higher than that of cities in western China. But for every 100 yuan a laborer costs he creates profits of 118 yuan. This suggests Shanghai has a robust economic strength overall.

Shanghai Mayor Chen Liangyu said the city was aware of the rising costs of investment for foreign investors and was taking steps to reduce them to make Shanghai a high-returns base.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2002)