US chamber: More than $2 billion in CIFIT deals

The American Chamber of Commerce in South China delegation is expected to seal investment deals worth $2.5 billion at the 18th China International Fair for Investment and Trade, Harley Seyedin, president of the chamber, said on Sunday.

Since 2010, the delegation has consistently signed agreements at the fair worth more than $2 billion each year. Among the nearly 400 participants led by Seyedin this year are almost 200 CEOs from the United States.

Last year, the total number of participants was about 300.

Some highlights for the non-profit chamber this year include more moves toward two-way investment between US and Chinese businessmen, and a US consortium investment in a tourism project in a remote county of Fujian province.

"More US companies have come here to offer investment opportunities for Chinese counterparts and I think at some point China's outward investment is going to exceed its inward investment," said Seyedin.

Despite the growing perception that China is gradually losing its competitiveness as a major foreign direct investment destination due to regulatory uncertainties and rising costs, Seyedin remains optimistic about its prospects.

"The investment environment in China remains very strong and our member companies are clearly saying that they are reinvesting in China to expand their operations here," said Seyedin. Statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce show US investment in China fell 4.6 percent in the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

According to a recent report by the chamber on the state of business in South China, manufacturing is showing a resurgence, with 27 percent of respondents saying their primary business focus is manufacturing for export rather than providing products and services to the Chinese market, a 19 percent increase from last year.

The last time manufacturers focused on exports featured so strongly in the study was 2010.

The number of members who reinvest in China this year will increase by 30 percent over a year earlier, he said. The survey found about 73 percent of the chamber's members in South China primarily focus on selling goods and services to the Chinese market.

huangying@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/08/2014 page6)