US companies prefer China as best investment spot

Majority of American companies are overwhelmingly optimistic about China and rank the world's factory as the top investment destination for them in 2010, even as they face daunting challenges in their native market, says an industry survey.

According to the 2009 China Business Report released on Friday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), a large majority of American firms operating in China continue to see revenue and profit growth even as elsewhere they face downturn.

The survey of 369 American companies with operations in China reveals that a record 90 per cent of the surveyed corporations have an optimistic business outlook on the world's fastest growing economy.

Based on one of the longest running surveys of American companies in China, the report also tracks the continuing focus of American firms present in China on serving the Chinese domestic market as their primary strategy.

"China remains a major investment destination for American companies, the majority of whom are focused on competing in China's growing domestic market," AmCham Shanghai president Brenda Foster said, while releasing the report.

The survey states as much as 74 per cent of the American companies surveyed ranked China as a top-three investment priority with nearly 20 per cent of them naming it as the number one investment spot for them.

Besides, 64 per cent of them have plans to increase their investments in the Middle Kingdom in 2010 against a paltry five per cent planning to decrease it.  About 90 per cent of the respondents were "optimistic" or "slightly optimistic" about the five-year outlook compared to 81 per cent in 2008, the survey added.

Moreover, 82 per cent of American companies are optimistic about revenues in the New Year. "American companies are finding that their performance in China is the bright spot in an otherwise difficult global picture," AmCham Shanghai chairman J Norwell Coquillard said.

"This report offers businesspeople, policymakers and opinion leaders a valuable resource for better understanding the Chinese market which is sure to play an even larger role in the world economy for years to come," Coquillard added.