The American Chamber of Commerce in South China has announced that more than 150 of its corporate members- its largest delegation to date ¡ª will attend the 13th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), with plans to sign agreements with a total contract value exceeding $1 billion.
The 150 companies are involved in hi-tech machinery, construction, food, auto, human resource consulting, law, finance and renewable energy industries.
¡°I fully expect that at the end of this CIFIT, we will have signed more than $1 billion worth of projects,¡± said Harley Seyedin, president of AmCham South China. From Sept 6 to 9, the delegation will meet senior leaders from various provinces such as Fujian, Shaanxi, Hainan and Sichuan, looking for potential cooperation opportunities. This is the seventh time for AmCham South China to attend the fair ¡ª its delegation having rapidly expanded from a dozen members on its first visit to more than 12 times that currently.
The AmCham South China is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating bilateral trade between the United States and China with 1,650 corporate and individual members.
Two weeks after the State Council, China¡¯s cabinet, enacted policies to speed up the development of the Western Straits Economy Zone, AmCham South China lead 75 US companies to Fuzhou and Xiamen for three days, during which they signed contracts worth 3.4 billion yuan.
Compared to the pre-CIFIT warm-up trip, ¡°this time we have more time and twice as many delegates,¡± Seyedin said, expressing his confidence in reaching his target.
¡°The development of the Western Straits Economy Zone means enormous opportunities for everybody, especially for American companies,¡± said Seyedin.
He said US companies have accumulated quite a lot in terms of technology and talents after many years¡¯ development in Taiwan. They can bring these capabilities developed there and combine them with the market and expertise available on the eastern coast of China.
According to a survey released by AmCham South China in March of this year, its corporate members planned to invest $6.5 billion in China.
¡°Although this is less than the amount in previous years, considering that many of their parent companies have had difficulties in the United States during the fi nancial crisis, they are still very optimistic about the future of the Chinese economy. They are using this opportunity to off-set their losses in other parts of the world,¡± said Seyedin.
CIFIT¡¯s mission is to provide Chinese companies with overseas investment opportunities, and AmCham South China is one organization whose role has been to supply them to Chinese investors looking to expand to the US.
On Sept 9, AmCham South China will hold a forum on US-China investment cooperation with the US Embassy in China and the US Consulate General Guangzhou to introduce US laws, taxation and related information to Chinese companies and individuals. Officers from the US Department of Energy will introduce cooperation opportunities for the renewable energy sector.
In the exhibition hall, visitors can learn more about investment options in states like Mississippi Texas and Idaho.
¡°Opportunities for Chinese companies and individuals in the United States are endless,¡± said Seyedin. ¡°Chinese investors can invest in every possible field. This is the time that Chinese enterprises can buy things like houses and stocks at the cheapest prices in over the last 30 years. If you act quickly enough, you can even buy Bernard Madoff¡¯s house,¡± Seyedin joked.
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