"This kind of investment market in the Chinese mainland is very attractive overseas," said Xue Kang, general manager of Shigong Initial Investment Company in Taiwan province.

A survey conducted by Qingke Consultation Company showed that about US$27 billion in venture capital from 111 investment corporations worldwide remained in Beijing's Zhongguancun High- tech Development Zone.

Another survey by Deloitte and Touche showed the Chinese mainland had considerable advantages in attracting overseas investment over other areas in Asia-Pacific region.

But overseas investors are often unable to recoup their investments with profits from the mainland market after helping the enterprises grow, as there is no relative stock market for this sort of capital.

"All the factors constitute a bottleneck for investment's further development in the mainland," said Li Shiji, a partner of Global Strategic Investment Management Company in the United States.

"Recouping the investment in time may be more important than entering the market," he added.

Xue and Li agreed that an efficient mechanism and relative laws and regulations for standardizing market operations were very important for investors to make decisions.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2003)