Chinese Drafts Law on Solely-Funded Enterprises 　　China's highest legislative body, the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, has drafted a law on solely-funded enterprises in a bid to boost development of the private economy. 　　The aim of the legislation is to ease terms for the establishment of solely-funded businesses while encouraging citizens to invest in the private sector, Yao Zhenyan, deputy director of the NPC's Financial and Economic Committee, said in Beijing April 26 in his report on the draft law. 　　"The law will be of great significance for the development of the non-state economic sector as the newly amended Constitution has confirmed legal status on the private sector which is mainly solely-funded," he said. 　　Yao Zhenyan added that the new law, if adopted, will become an important part of the legal system of the country's socialist market economy, which has been composed of company law and laws concerning joint ventures. 　　China had 442,000 solely-funded firms and 31.2 million self-employed people registered at the end of last year. 　　The proposed draft law stipulates protection for the rights and interests of solely-funded firms and their investors, and gives these firms the same market status as other types of enterprises have had. Investors in these enterprises would have to shoulder unlimited liabilities, and the law will also regulate registration, management and liquidation of the sector in a bid to ensure its healthy development. HomeNews 1999-04-27 Page3 Full Story in Chinese