TCL Co., one of China's big TV set producers based in the south China's Guangdong province, has decided to invest 120 million yuan (about 14.5 million U.S. dollars) in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

With the investment which was originally put in its subsidiary in Guangdong, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will be able to produce 800,000 TCL brand TV sets this year.

"I'm very much impressed by the strong sense of service of the autonomous government," said Jiang Hua, vice general manager of TCL., adding that his company's decision to "go west" is correct.

TCL is one of a number of famous businesses in the coastal cities to move west. Thanks to the involvement of the Shanghai Fuhua Group, the Baotou Storage Cell Factory, whose bankruptcy was announced in 1997, has been revitalized after Fuhua re-organized the factory and introduced advanced technology and management.

Taiwan businessman Chou Tai-long has decided to invest more to increase his company's annual welding rods production capacity to 40,000 tons, four times the current figure. The cheap energy and labor forces as well as the preferential policies offered by the local government can be directly converted into advantage of business development, he said. And the Chinese government's decision to develop the west is an excellent opportunity for all businesses, he added. He also said that the infrastructure and facilities in the western areas have undergone rapid development over the past few years.

To develop the west relies not only on the governmental investment but also on the active participation of the businesses in the developed areas, said Yun Bulong, chairman of the autonomous region. He believed that far-sighted entrepreneurs in the country's developed areas as well as foreign firms will take the advantage to make wise decision to move west.