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American companies find opportunities after trip to Fujian

By Liang Qiwen (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-06-29 16:29

XIAMEN, Fujian: A delegation of 74 American Chamber of Commerce in South China (AmCham South China) members representing $267 million in investment budgets for 2009 spent three days last week in Fuzhou and Xiamen, two major cities of East China's Fujian province, seeking opportunities and making investments in the province.

The move was taken only one month after the release of the Central government's "Some opinions on supporting Fujian province to develop the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone".

The delegation, which was joined by US Consul General Robert Goldberg, met with provincial and municipal leaders such as Vice Governor Ye Shuangyu, and Fuzhou Vice Mayor Chen Weimin and Xiamen Vice Mayor Zhan Cangzhou and also attended business matchmaking sessions that lead to memorandums of understanding (MOU) on deals in the West-Strait Economic Development Zone worth more than 3.4 billion yuan ($500 million) being inked, in addition to commitments from several other companies to open new offices in Fujian to immediately take advantage of the new opportunities introduced to the delegation.

The delegation members nearly unanimously represented high tech, high value-added and environmentally friendly industries, leading to an instant synergy with Fujian's own development goals and preferred sectors for investment.

Many of the represented companies are directly involved in environmentally-sustainable energy and infrastructure projects such as LNG processing, high-speed rail transportation and renewable power.

Other companies were looking to provide Fujian's developing business environment with professional services, IT products and even venture capital funding.

The delegates' enthusiasm for opportunities in Fujian and the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone was attributed by AmCham South China president Harley Seyedin to the fact that the vast majority of AmCham South China members is already operating profitably, particularly in Guangdong, and is actively seeking to capture additional market share throughout the region.