Nearly 40 percent of US firms in China have delayed or canceled plans to invest there as the global downturn triggers concerns over future revenues, a survey showed yesterday.
The survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China showed 37 percent of its member firms said they were postponing investment in the country, while 2 percent had canceled such plans altogether.
The survey, which was carried out among more than 200 companies in November and December and updated in the middle of last month, did not give a comparable figure on investment plans last year.
It showed 35 percent of the respondents projected a fall in revenues this year, compared with just 13 percent expecting declines a year ago.
The Chinese economy, which is heavily dependent on exports, is increasingly feeling the impact of the global financial crisis as foreign markets contract.
It expanded by 9 percent last year, dipping into single-digit growth for the first time in six years.
This year could be even worse, with the World Bank predicting China’s economic growth would be 7.5 percent, which would be the lowest level in 19 years.
A quarter of the firms polled in the AmCham China survey said they had downsized their work forces in China since November, while 21 percent said they planned to cut jobs this year.
The survey also showed that 84 percent of respondents felt China was losing competitive advantages because of rising labor and regulatory costs, up from 71 percent last year.
Foreign direct investment in China fell 32.6 percent in January from a year earlier, official data showed.
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