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When German chemical giant BASF started its $10-billion petrochemical project in south China in November 2019， it made news as the smart Verbund project was the first large petrochemical project in China solely owned by foreign investors. The company came into the spotlight again recently， being one of the early birds among the foreignfunded enterprises in the country to resume work after a hiatus due to the novel coronavirus.
According to Stephan Kothrade， President and Chairman of BASF Greater China， production resumed in early February after the extended Chinese New Year holiday ended. Strict health protection measures have been adopted in its offices and factories， and wherever possible， employees are being asked to work from home.
Kothrade said the Chinese market remains appealing despite the diffi culties. “China is now the BASF’s third largest market after Germany and the United States and it will be a major contributor of the profi table growth of the BASF Group. We have faith in the long-term development of China’s market，” he told Beijing Review.
As foreign-funded enterprises， which have become key players in the Chinese market， resume work， the government is issuing supporting policies to help them as well as domestic companies. The National Development and Reform Commission issued a circular on March 11， assuring the economic authorities will further support foreign-funded firms and projects to resume work and ensure stable growth of foreign investment.
The measures include further streamlining approval procedures for foreign-funded projects， reducing the items on the negative list that details the sectors out of bounds for foreign investment， and expanding the catalog of industries where foreign investors are encouraged. The legitimate rights of foreign-funded fi rms will be protected.
Except for Hubei Province in central China where the preventive measures are the most stringent， around 60 percent of major foreign-funded enterprises in the manufacturing industry and 40 percent in the service industry had resumed over 70 percent of their production capacity nationwide by March 12， Zong Changqing， Director of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration of the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM）， told a press conference on March 13. The supporting policies include tax and fee cuts and reduction of bank interest on loans. According to Zong， over 90 percent of foreign-funded enterprises in China are small and medium-sized ones and most of them can benefit from the preferential policies meant for Chinese enterprises. There are more than 400，000 foreign-funded enterprises in China.
Production resumption by these companies has contributed to the battle against the novel coronavirus. To meet the surging demand for medical supplies， German pharmaceutical giant Bayer’s China division restarted operation in February. Xie Yatao， an offi cial at Bayer’s supply center in south China， told Nanfang Daily that the resumed production capacity was around 60 percent.
Foreign-funded enterprises providing daily necessities have also taken up the reins once again. U.S. retailer Walmart said it has been working to ensure the supply of daily commodities at a stable price since the Chinese New Year holiday and collaborating with Chinese catering enterprises to introduce new products.
Besides medical supplies and daily neces- sities， other manufacturers have also resumed their business to ensure global supplies. The two auto factories of BMW Brilliance Automobile， a joint venture of Germany’s BMW and Chinese automaker Brilliance Auto Group， went back to work in mid-February.
Chen Weili， U.S. sports brand Skechers’ CEO in China， the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asia， told Economic Daily that although sales of brick-and-mortar stores has been affected， new online demands have been generated， which can bring great opportunities. The company plans to provide more diverse products and boost its online store presence.
Fabrice Megarbane， President and CEO of L’Oréal China， expressed upbeat expectations about the Chinese market at the online annual conference of the company on March 5， projecting the market will bounce back as the fundamentals for beauty product consumption are still there. “China will become the largest global market for the company and the laboratory of global beauty in the future，” he said.
However， not all performances are gloomy. In the same period， paid-in FDI in China’s hi-tech industries rose 2.2 percent year on year to 41.5 billion yuan （$5.9 billion）. Investment from other Belt and Road participating countries increased by 9.7 percent， and FDI from the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose by 15.1 percent， MOFCOM said.
According to Stephan Kothrade， President and Chairman of BASF Greater China， production resumed in early February after the extended Chinese New Year holiday ended. Strict health protection measures have been adopted in its offices and factories， and wherever possible， employees are being asked to work from home.
Kothrade said the Chinese market remains appealing despite the diffi culties. “China is now the BASF’s third largest market after Germany and the United States and it will be a major contributor of the profi table growth of the BASF Group. We have faith in the long-term development of China’s market，” he told Beijing Review.
As foreign-funded enterprises， which have become key players in the Chinese market， resume work， the government is issuing supporting policies to help them as well as domestic companies. The National Development and Reform Commission issued a circular on March 11， assuring the economic authorities will further support foreign-funded firms and projects to resume work and ensure stable growth of foreign investment.
The measures include further streamlining approval procedures for foreign-funded projects， reducing the items on the negative list that details the sectors out of bounds for foreign investment， and expanding the catalog of industries where foreign investors are encouraged. The legitimate rights of foreign-funded fi rms will be protected.
A global supply issue
With China being a major market and a key base of production as well as research and development for many foreign-funded enterprises， they are keen to resume work to ensure their global supply chains remain stable.Except for Hubei Province in central China where the preventive measures are the most stringent， around 60 percent of major foreign-funded enterprises in the manufacturing industry and 40 percent in the service industry had resumed over 70 percent of their production capacity nationwide by March 12， Zong Changqing， Director of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration of the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM）， told a press conference on March 13. The supporting policies include tax and fee cuts and reduction of bank interest on loans. According to Zong， over 90 percent of foreign-funded enterprises in China are small and medium-sized ones and most of them can benefit from the preferential policies meant for Chinese enterprises. There are more than 400，000 foreign-funded enterprises in China.
Production resumption by these companies has contributed to the battle against the novel coronavirus. To meet the surging demand for medical supplies， German pharmaceutical giant Bayer’s China division restarted operation in February. Xie Yatao， an offi cial at Bayer’s supply center in south China， told Nanfang Daily that the resumed production capacity was around 60 percent.
Foreign-funded enterprises providing daily necessities have also taken up the reins once again. U.S. retailer Walmart said it has been working to ensure the supply of daily commodities at a stable price since the Chinese New Year holiday and collaborating with Chinese catering enterprises to introduce new products.
Besides medical supplies and daily neces- sities， other manufacturers have also resumed their business to ensure global supplies. The two auto factories of BMW Brilliance Automobile， a joint venture of Germany’s BMW and Chinese automaker Brilliance Auto Group， went back to work in mid-February.
Chen Weili， U.S. sports brand Skechers’ CEO in China， the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asia， told Economic Daily that although sales of brick-and-mortar stores has been affected， new online demands have been generated， which can bring great opportunities. The company plans to provide more diverse products and boost its online store presence.
Fabrice Megarbane， President and CEO of L’Oréal China， expressed upbeat expectations about the Chinese market at the online annual conference of the company on March 5， projecting the market will bounce back as the fundamentals for beauty product consumption are still there. “China will become the largest global market for the company and the laboratory of global beauty in the future，” he said.
Still a honeypot
Affected by the suspension of work and production and weak market expectations， China’s foreign direct investment （FDI） has seen some decline. According to MOFCOM， the first two months of the year saw non-fi nancial FDI drop by 8.6 percent year on year to 134.4 billion yuan（$19.2 billion）.However， not all performances are gloomy. In the same period， paid-in FDI in China’s hi-tech industries rose 2.2 percent year on year to 41.5 billion yuan （$5.9 billion）. Investment from other Belt and Road participating countries increased by 9.7 percent， and FDI from the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose by 15.1 percent， MOFCOM said.