Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday Chinese entrepreneurs working overseas in all parts of the world have made important contributions to the development of the countries they have migrated to.

Opening the seventh World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, Mahathir praised Chinese expats for their entrepreneurship, their willingness to take risks and their appreciation of the specific needs in the places where they now they live.

The convention was first held in 1991 as an international forum for Chinese entrepreneurs across the world to meet and deliberate on issues affecting global trade, industry and economics in general.

This biennial convention had been held six times prior to the Malaysian conference - in Singapore (1991), Hong Kong (1993), Thailand (1995), Canada (1997), Australia (1999) and the Chinese mainland (2001).

(China Daily July 29, 2003)