Beijing says fourth-quarter FDI outlook is ‘optimistic’
CHINA is “optimistic” about meeting the goal of stably attracting foreign investment in the mainland through the year, as the January-October figures were sound, the Ministry of Commerce said.
Zong Changqing, director-general of the ministry’s department of foreign investment administration, said it is expected that foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing to the Chinese mainland will remain stable for the whole year.
So far this year, FDI has been growing steadily, with more bigticket projects in high-end sectors, Zong said at a news conference on Monday.
The ministry’s data showed FDI into the Chinese mainland amounted to 752.41 billion yuan ($107 billion) in the first 10 months, up 6.6 per cent year-on-year.
A total of 33,407 new foreignfunded enterprises were established in the market between January and last month, the data showed. Last month alone, FDI climbed 7.4 per cent year-on-year to 69.2 billion yuan.
“This year, there have been more than 1,300 foreign-funded projects, with investment of more than $50 million. The number has increased by 5.4 per cent compared with the same period last year,” Zong said. “In the meantime, the structure of FDI has been optimised.”
In January, German chemical giant BASF signed a framework agreement with the Guangdong provincial government to further clarify the planning details for its $10 billion Verbund chemical complex. The site would ultimately be the third-largest BASF site worldwide.
Also in January, Tesla Inc’s Shanghai gigafactory, the largest foreigninvested manufacturing project in the city, broke ground. It has started trial production ahead of schedule.
China has rolled out a series of measures to stabilise foreign capital, such as renewing the negative lists, promoting the Foreign Investment Law and establishing new pilot free trade zones.
Early this month, the State Council issued a guideline on better using foreign investment, with a focus on safeguarding the national treatment of foreign-funded enterprises.
The department’s deputy directorgeneral Ye Wei said the commerce ministry has been working with relevant departments to work out supporting regulations for the Foreign Investment Law, which will come into force in January.
The draft of the law is available online for public comment, and judicial interpretation is also being formulated, Ye said.
The ministry has also been training local offices in understanding the significance of the law, so as to provide a foundation for its implementation, he said.
Last month, Maxam, a provider of energetic materials and blasting solutions, opened its first plant in Shandong province. Chairman and CEO Jose Fernando SanchezJunco Mans said China’s economy is now on its strategic transformation trajectory to sustainable and high-quality growth, which provides tremendous business opportunities for the company.