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Private Architectural Firms to Boom in China
Around 150 to 200 private architectural and consulting firms are expected to emerge in China next year, according to the Ministry of Construction Friday.
The government voiced support to famous architects to develop their own consulting firms and the development of private architectural firms will follow the "step-by-step" policy, said Lin Xuanchai, a ministry official.
Architects in China were permitted to set up private firms in 1994.
The country has 12,000 architecture institutes, most of which are state-owned, with an annual business volume totaling 4.35 billion yuan.
There are approximately 120 architecture joint ventures in China and more than 140 companies among the top 200 architecture firms in the world have set up offices here. But the country still does not allow foreign companies to set up sole-funded architecture firms. Although state-owned architecture institutes have long played a leading role in the industry, they now face problems in increasing efficiency and competitiveness as well as adapting to globalization and they will face even larger problems after China enters into the World Trade Organization, Lin said.
The Chinese Government has planned to transform these architecture institutes to state-owned architecture companies since 1999 and several preferential policies have already been unveiled, including raising the fees of architects and reducing their personal income tax by one half.
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