In 2002, about 22 percent of the province's total investment on fixed assets came from foreign direct investment (FDI). And over 35 percent of the province's total tax revenue was generated by joint ventures whose combined export volume took up 63 percent of the province's total.

Currently, 170, or over one-third, of the world's top 500 companies have invested in Jiangsu. In 2002, some 5,801 FDI projects were approved, up 63.9 percent year-on-year. And the amount of contracted foreign investment rose by 132.8 percent to 19.67 billion US dollars.

Among those newly approved joint ventures, some 971 involved an investment of more than 10 million US dollars, 99 used over 30 million US dollars, and 36 took over 100 million US dollars.

These investment from a dozen countries including Japan, the United States, France, Britain and Germany mainly focus on electronic information, chemistry, paper-making, metallurgy, mechanics and new materials.

Thanks to the rising foreign investment over the past few years, a number of industrial development zones have taken shape in the southern part of the province, becoming a major engine of the local economy.

What's more, a number of multinationals specializing in the service industry also came to these areas to seek profits in sectors like finance, insurance, whole-sale and retailing.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2003)