Goldman Sachs, one of the leading US investment banks, issued its monthly report in Beijing Thursday noting that over 80 percent of the profits of German Volkswagen in the first half of 2003 came from the Chinese market.

The report said China has contributed 1.3 euros to the per-share profit of the world leading automobile-maker.

The Chinese automobile market is growing at a very high speed and auto sales have surged by 70 percent, said the report, stressing that China has become a key factor for almost every car-maker.

The report also indicated that Volkswagen's third quarter financial report appeared worrying and the company's profits were in a decline.

More foreign competitors would enter the Chinese automobile market and domestic carmakers would promote sales by cutting prices, said the report. Based on this prediction, Goldman Sachs was pessimistic about Volkswagen's sales prospect in the fourth quarter of this year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2003)