BEIJING, Sept 19 Asia Pulse - GE has become the largest investor on China’s water market in terms of talents or technology, said a senior official of the transnational company on the recently held 5th World Water Conference.
In fact, GE is not the only international giant of great interest in China’s water market. All signs show that the potential business opportunities in China’s water market are attracting many transnational companies to rush into the country.
China is known as the fastest growing market in the world, and its fast-growing water use and water treatment market is of great attraction to transnational companies.
It is reported that China plans to treat 70 per cent of the sewages in urban areas by 2010, which means that it will build more than 1,000 sewage treatment plants with a total investment of 400 billion yuan (US$50 billion).
However, China lags far behind foreign advanced countries in water treatment technology, water market management and operation level. The big gap means great business opportunity for transnational companies.
Just for this cause, a batch of transnational companies have stepped up entering Chinese market. To date, such transnational companies including GE, Veoia Water and Suez, have all set a foot in the mainland of China. Veoia Water has so far launched 19 projects in China, with investment totaling 470 million euros (US$597 million) in 2005. Suez have obtained four all-round water service contracts.
Some reports say that the water supply capacity of foreign-funded ventures will account for 20 per cent of the country’s total. GE now is devoting to experiment a technology to improve the safety of tap water. Once it gets matured, it will be widely applied in China, said Zhou Weifang, general manager of GE Chinas water treatment and technical process treatment business.
China’s urban water industry will be in fastest growth period in the coming 20 to 30 years, which will provide great chance to the worlds water industry, said Qiu Baoxing, vice minister of the construction.
(XIC)
The 2006 China International Logistics, Transportation and Information Expo (Transport Logistics China) will be held between September 19th and 22nd at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, Ta Kung Pao reported today. The Transport Logistics China will be held by Germany’s Munich Trade Fairs International Group (MMI).
A total of 300 exhibitors will attend the expo, including 92 exhibitors from Germany. The number of exhibitors will be 39% higher than the previous expo, namely, the Transport Logistics China 2004, a fact signifying the huge potential of the Chinese logistics market.
During the last Expo, five exhibitors from Spain and one exhibitor from Russia attended the exhibition however this year, 30 exhibitors from Spain and 13 exhibitors from Russia have applied to attend the event.
According to MMI, the Expo is a platform that provides information for logistics and transportation companies in both China and foreign countries.