Chinese and Southeast Asian businesses will put 6.15 billion US dollars to jointly build machinery, building materials, consumer electronics, farm produce, foodstuffs and other projects, the organizers of the fourth China-ASEAN Expo said here Wednesday.

This figure represented a 5.28 percent increase from the previous China-ASEAN Expo, said Li Jinzao, deputy director of the organizing committee.

Agreements on a total of 182 international economic cooperation contracts were signed during the four-day exposition, an annual business gathering between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), involving a combined investment of 6.15 billion US dollars, Li said.

The ASEAN groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Traders of the two sides also signed 1.42 billion dollars worth of contracts over the past four days, up 12.1 percent year on year.

Guangxi in south China, host of the exposition, reported trade deals with ASEAN countries valued at 430 million dollars and 99 investment projects involving a total input of 3.61 billion dollars, including 81 projects to be funded and built in China by ASEAN businesses and 18 projects Chinese companies will operate in ASEAN countries, said Li at a press conference at the end of the exposition.

The largest sum of investment signed was a contract for Thai rice export to Shenzhen City of China, which involves 110 million dollars.

According to Li, also vice chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the number of Chinese and ASEAN companies and institutions participating in the exposition increased 4.9 percent to 1908.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2007)