Fortune 500 Companies Invest in Over 100 Enterprises in TEDA

TIANJIAN, China, Nov. 17, 2005 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Tianjin Economic- Technological Development Area (''TEDA'') announced today that with the recent arrival in TEDA of Tianjin Feng Ai Automobile Seat Parts Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Toyota Boshoku and Aisia Seiki, the total number of investments in TEDA enterprises from Fortune 500 companies has surpassed 100.

Currently, TEDA has approved a total of 4,031 foreign invested companies, with an accumulative investment of USD28.49 billion. Of them, 45 Fortune 500 companies, from 9 different countries, have invested in over 100 enterprises with a total investment value of USD6.37 billion, accounting for 22.4% of total foreign investments. Their main market sectors are electronic communications, machine manufacturing, bio-pharmaceuticals and food and beverages. As core enterprises in these fields, they form larger industrial chains and clusters with supporting enterprises, thus constituting a key part of the four pillar industries in TEDA.

The number of enterprises with investments from Fortune 500 companies has grown to more than one hundred companies over a 21-year period. From 1984 to 1991, there were only five enterprises that were set up by Fortune 500 companies in TEDA; from 1992 to 1999, there were 53; and from 2000 to 2005, there were 42 such enterprises.

The first enterprise that was set up by a Fortune 500 company in TEDA was Kraft Foods (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., which was built with investment from the worlds largest consumer group Philip Morris on Nov. 29, 1984. The enterprise with the largest accumulative investment, USD3 billion, is Motorola (China) Electronic Co., Ltd., which opened its door in TEDA in 1992 and the companies with the most number of enterprises are Samsung and Toyota (two major industrial clusters), both of which have built over 10 companies so far.

As Binhai New Area is formally incorporated into the general strategy of the national development, TEDA, as its headliner, attracts more attention from investors. In recent months, Mitsubishi Chemical, John Deere, Fengtong Aluminium Alloy and some other large projects with investment from Fortune 500 companies have established themselves in TEDA, signalling the emergence of a new series of large-scale investments from Fortune 500 companies.

Brief Introduction to Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area

Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (abbreviated to TEDA, with ''Taida'' as its Chinese transliteration) was established in 1984, upon the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It was one of the first state-level economic and technological development zones in the country.

Located in the centre of the Circum-Bohai economic circle and in the east of the Eurasia continental bridge, TEDA is a portal to such two metropolises as Beijing and Tianjin and a vital passage to Northeast China. So far over 3,300 overseas-founded companies have settled in TEDA. Among them 93 are founded by 44 corporations of the Fortune Global 500 like Motorola, Samsung, Toyota Motor, etc. In 2000, TEDA was acclaimed by Fortune of U.S. as ''the most admired industrial park of China.'' In 2002, it was elected by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), along with five other Chinese cities and areas including Shenzhen, Suzhou, Pudong New Area of Shanghai, etc., ''the most dynamic regions of China.''

For more information, please visit http://www.investteda.org/ .