BEIJING - China holds great business opportunities for members of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, who in turn welcome investment from Chinese
enterprises, the heads of some ASEAN chambers of commerce said Thursday.
Dismissing concerns that China is
not as friendly to foreign investment as it has been in the past, Seet Poh Kim,
chairwoman of the Singaporean Chamber of Commerce in China, said China's
sounder set of laws and rules have made the country more appealing to
Singaporean enterprises.
Compared with a decade ago, the
increase in laws that regulate economic activities help keep businesses on the
right track, a boon for cooperation between the two sides, Seet said.
Peter Thong, former chairman of
the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, echoed Seet's
comments, saying although foreign-invested enterprises are no longer the
recipients of preferential policies like tax cuts, China's large appetite for
high-tech cooperation has made more room for Malaysian investment.
They made the remarks at a news
briefing on enterprise cooperation between China and ASEAN members. The event
was hosted in Beijing by the China-ASEAN Business Council, one of the main
dialogue and cooperation mechanisms for China and ASEAN members.
Peter and Seet both said ASEAN
enterprises should learn to adapt to the new business environment in China as the
country upgrades its economic growth pattern.
At the same time, the ASEAN also
welcomes more investment programs from Chinese enterprises, according to the
attendees of the news briefing.
Tan Lui Hai, economic counselor
at the Singaporean Embassy to China, said Chinese investment in Singapore is
diversified, but the amount is relatively small.
He said Singapore, a country that
presents few language and cultural barriers to China, welcomes more investment,
especially from Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises.
The development of China's
service industry will create new business opportunities for service-savvy
Singaporean enterprises, and the mature investment environment in Singapore can
also facilitate Chinese investment programs, according to Tan.
To back cooperation with the
ASEAN, Xu Ningning, executive secretary general of the CABC, said at the
briefing that China has set up a $10-billion fund to provide financial support
to SMEs with investment ambitions in ASEAN member states.
Moreover, authorities are mulling
policies such as favorable loans and tax cuts for Chinese enterprises to go
abroad in ASEAN members, according to Xu.
Domestic enterprises can also
stay informed on the latest investment information and business situations in
the ASEAN through working conferences and other channels, Xu said.
The Malaysian and Singaporean
chambers of commerce said they are willing to share business opportunities in
the ASEAN with their Chinese friends.
China and ASEAN members should
further open up their markets and step up efforts to create a more favorable
environment for closer economic cooperation, Xu said.
Xinhua
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