Introduction to Foreign Investment in the Mining Industry

According to office statistics, China's mining industry attracted foreign investments in 162 projects, accounting for 0.72 percent of the nation's total in 2000. The contractual value was US$506.4 million, accounting for 0.81 percent of the nation's total. The mining industry saw a 24.26- and 57.16-percent increase respectively in these two aspects compared to 1999. Actual utilized foreign investment in the industry totaled US$583 million, accounting for 1.43 percent of the nation's total. The average investment in the project amounted to US$3.126 million, 26 percent higher than in 1999.

In 2001, China's mining industry attracted foreign investments in 149 projects, 8.02 percent lower than in the previous year. The contract value was US$644.48 million, an increase of 27.27 percent over 2000. The average investment in the project was US$4.325 million, 34.3 percent more than in 2000.

In 2002, China's mining industry attracted foreign investments in 164 projects, up 10.07 percent over the previous year. The contract value was US$380.88 million, a drop of 40.9 percent over the previous year. The average investment in the project was US$2.322 million, 46.4 percent less than in 2001.

Introduction to Foreign Investment in China's Oil & Gas Exploration and Extraction Industry

Since the 1980s, China has been using foreign capital, advanced technology and management through various flexible cooperation projects or joint ventures to speed up the country's oil and gas prospects and raise its extraction standards. Since the 1990s, the country has gone abroad to undertake foreign exploration and extraction projects to increase its global market shares.

Official statistics show China's oil industry has so far attracted foreign investments worth US$7 billion. During the period of 1982-2000, the China National Offshore Oil Corp signed 140 contracts worth US$6.45 billion with 70 oil enterprises in 18 countries to jointly launch prospecting operations in the country's offshore regions. Some 19 oil and gas fields and 62 sites with oil/gas structures were discovered. A total of 870 million metric tons of geological oil reserves and 130.2 billion cubic meters of geological gas reserves were found.

By the end of 1999, 52 contracts had been signed covering 167 onshore zones open to foreign companies. Total foreign investments reached US$1.1 billion. The opening-up policy greatly enhanced the country's extraction technology for complex oil and gas resources, such as extraction technology for deep gas, thick, low-permeable and rift oil reserves at Daqing, Shenli, Liaohe and Zhongyuan oil fields. The overall recoverable ratio also improved. The successful joint operations at the Dagang and Sichuan Basin further enhanced the country's shaft-prospecting technologies.

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, seven product-sharing coal-gas contracts were signed with a total foreign investment nearing US$100 million. As a result, the country's appraisal technology for coal gas was improved and prospecting operations were hastened.

According to official statistics, China scored three foreign projects in the oil and gas industry with a total contractual value of US$255,87 million in 2000, an increase of 50 percent over the previous year.

In 2001, the number of foreign projects increased to eight -- an increase of 166.67 percent over the previous year. The total contractual value stood at US$43,9 million -- a decrease of 82.84 percent from the previous year. The country also had eight foreign projects in 2002 with a total contractual value of US$69,71 million -- an increase of 58.79 percent over the previous year.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)