(1) Fernando Maia Cerqueira, board member of Portugal-based Ongoing Strategy Investment (2) John P. Hickel, vice-president of Power Transmission Solutions (Zhangzhou) Co of Emerson Industrial Automation (3) Zeng Qi, an academic with Hong Kong Polytechnic University (4) Kowalski Krzysztof, CEO of Auckland-based Award Concepts, and (5) Abou Diallo, deputy director general of Mali's investment and commerce department. [Photo/China Daily]

XIAMEN - Foreign investors are eyeing expansion in China's high and new technology industry to drive their growth in the country and stepping up their pace to promote investment in the field, which is also expected to propel the Chinese economy in the next five years.

"We are trying to find new business opportunities here (in China) especially in the technology field, because the Chinese government is making great efforts on industrial upgrade, which has opened up the Chinese market further," Fernando Maia Cerqueira, board member of Portugal-based Ongoing Strategy Investment, told China Daily during the 15th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT).

CIFIT has become a popular platform promoting bilateral trade and investment between Chinese overseas investors, and its 15th edition opened in Xiamen, Fujian province, on Wednesday attracting participants from 108 countries and regions.

According to Cerqueira, the Portuguese company will sign an agreement with the Fujian provincial government in the near future to set up a research and development center in the province. The agreement is expected to localize software techniques and expand China's media technology industry.

"The new plant in China will drive our business in the whole of Asia, because China's strong economy and big market potential have brightened the investment prospects in the market," Cerqueira said.

Emerson Industrial Automation announced that it would start a new production project in Fujian's Zhangzhou city in a month or two in accordance with the demands of China's machinery and power generation markets. "We already have a very large investment in China because the market is very big. At present, we generate revenue of $2 billion from the market each year," said John P. Hickel, vice-president of Power Transmission Solutions (Zhangzhou) Co Ltd of Emerson Industrial Automation.

Kowalski Krzysztof, CEO of Auckland-based Award Concepts Ltd, said his company is participating in CIFIT to negotiate with the government and sign a cooperation agreement for a large chemical production base in Fujian.

"We will invest $500 million to set up a propylene production base in the Quangang Industrial Zone in Fujian's Quanzhou city, one of China's largest bases for the chemical industry, and the project will be completed within the next three years." Krzysztof said that 70 percent of the investment would come from Award Concepts and the rest from the company's Chinese business partners in Shanghai and Ningbo city, Zhejiang province.

Zeng Qi, an academic with Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said: "China has huge resources to attract investors from all over the world and currently most investors intend to invest in the technology field in China, because several factors including the increase in labor cost have raised the cost of investment in the manufacturing industry." Over the past 15 years, CIFIT has developed into a bilateral and multilateral business platform offering opportunities both for foreign and Chinese investors eager to either invest in China or "go global", Zeng said.

Abou Diallo, deputy director general of the investment and commerce department of Mali, said we have come here to attract Chinese investors to our country and we look forward to cooperating with Chinese companies as much as possible in the fields of mining and agriculture.

Krzysztof, of Auckland's Award Concepts, said China is perhaps the biggest market in the world and the Chinese economy is still very strong while other regions like the United States and the European Union are facing big economic problems. "We are excited to invest here because the central and provincial governments will provide assistance and cooperation and if we know what we need and what we can provide through the trade fair (CIFIT), our business will be successful."

According to the World Investment Report, released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in July, China will remain the top destination for foreign direct investment over the next two years.