As the SARS gradually fades, foreign investors still consider China as a favorable investment destination.

Henry Paulson, Chairman of the prestigious American investment institution Goldman Sachs, said, in his meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju, that China has won the world's respect and trust in the global fight against the SARS. Moreover, with China's successful entry into the World Trade Organization and its improvement in policy transparency and continuity, foreign investors see more business prospects to broaden their investment portfolios.

The foreign entrepreneurs are striving to turn their optimistic prophecy about China's economy into concrete investment projects.

Last month, the heads of American giants Caterpillar Investment Co., Ltd. and Motorola Electronic Co., Ltd. visited Beijing and announced their respective massive investment plans.

Mike Zafirovski, president and chief operating officer of Motorola, revealed that the company's total investment in China would reach US$5 billion in the coming five years.

A source from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, China's securities watchdog, confirmed that Goldman Sachs is actively applying for the QFII license which will permit it to invest in China's domestic stock market.

China has authorized four foreign investment institutions as Qualified Foreign Investment Institutions (QFII), a move expected to inject billions of US dollars into its domestic stock market and boost the country's economy.

A recent national survey conducted on basic economic entities by China's National Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of foreign-financed enterprises witnessed a sharp increase during the past years.

By the end of 2001, 56,770 foreign-financed enterprises had been established in China. With over 6.4 million employees and registered capital of 1.21 trillion yuan (about US$150 billion), these foreign enterprises have earned 204.5 billion yuan from their business activities in China.

The survey also predicts that more foreign capital will be invested in China's financial sectors, such as insurance and securities sectors, in the coming years.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2003)