American investors and the US NASDAQ market are confident of several Chinese websites listed in NASDAQ, said a senior American business leader Wednesday at the ongoing Agricultural Hi-tech Forum in Xi'an.

John T Wall, president of the US NASDAQ International Corp. Ltd., said that the new economy has a sound foundation, which is sure to prevent the turbulence of the stock market and economic recession.

Wall pointed out that although several web portals, including China.com, Sina.com, Sohu.com and Netease.com, have seen their share prices drop in NASDAQ recently, the range of the decline is far smaller than that for their American counterparts.

In his speech delivered to the forum, Wall said that venture capital is playing an increasingly vital role in the development of new market and venture capital investors, who more often than not, invest in a company whose operational model they appreciate.

Wall is very optimistic over the prospect of the new economy, saying that the temporary readjustment of the stock market is normal.

(Xinhua 11/08/2000)