US$768 Mln Worth of Agreements Signed at Investment Trade FairThe Xiamen government and local businesses signed agreements with foreign businesses, sealing the deal on 58 projects worth US$768 million at the five-day Fourth China International Investment and Trade Fair in Xianmen. Of the 58 projects, 34 are contracted projects whose contracts are worth a total of US$467 million, up 6% from last year.Compared with the previous three trade fairs, the companies this year's China International Investment and Trade Fair reached trade agreements in more fields, including industry, basic agricultural industry infrastructure and commerce. The quality of projects is higher and there are more high tech projects this year than previous years. Also, the level of capital invested was higher. The average agreement on one project was worth US$13.24 million. Investments in 23 projects exceeded US$10 million with the most lucrative investment being US$170 million. Capital continued to flow in mainly from Hong Kong and Taiwan investors. Hong Kong businessmen invested in 16 projects and signed US$363 million worth of agreements while Taiwan businessmen invested in 23 projects and signed US$259 million. The number of agreements reached with multinational companies including Boeing, Japan Airlines, Toyota, Carrefour, etc. increased visibly. Foreign companies with investments in Xiamen agreed to increase investments in 15 projects worth US$334 million. The Xiamen delegation also reached agreements with domestic companies. Five domestic joint-projects attended this year's China International Investment and Trade Fair treaty signing ceremony. Xiahua signed agreements with Huli zone, Kaiyuan zone, Beijing, Shandong and Fuzhou to build a "comprehensive service beeper network system," worth 650 million renminbi together. China Academy of Science Shanghai Organic Chemistry Institute and Huli zone government will invest 150 million yuan to develop a biological engineering science park. While businesses were attracting investments, the city of Xiamen also signed a number of trade agreements, worth US$441 million, up 20.16% from last year. The export agreements were worth US$328 million, up 20.95%, and import agreements worth US$112 million, up 17.51%. The fair was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) and Fujian Provincial government and Xiamen municipal government. |
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