Manufacturing remains the sector where most foreign investment is flocking to this northern port city.

Around 75 percent of industrial investment in Tianjin between January and August this year went to manufacturing, according to figures from the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

Information technology and auto electronics equipment firms are attracting the greatest foreign funds.

Overseas manufacturing investment leapt 57 percent year-on-year in January-August 2004.

Wholesale, retail, catering and property service industries are becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investment.

Around US$1.3 billion was ploughed into Tianjin's service sector in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 39 percent.

Investment in the property service sector doubled year-on-year.

Around 100 of the world's top 500 firms have invested in over 250 projects in Tianjin, involving a combined investment of US$6.7 billion.

During the first eight months of this year, 204 new foreign-funded enterprises, each involving over US$5 million of investment, were established, an increase of 71 compared to the same period in 2003.

Li Yong, director of the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), said the area - the home of most foreign-invested enterprises in Tianjin - witnessed the fastest growth in overseas investment in the first seven months of this year.

The area has 3,808 foreign-funded projects with total investment of US$20 billion so far. More than 380 are large projects with investment exceeding US$10 million.

And 42 of the world top 500 enterprises have invested over US$5.4 billion in 86 projects in the development area.

When the area was founded in 1984, overseas investment concentrated in projects producing daily necessities and light industrial goods.

But labour-intensive and low-level projects began to leave the development area in the early 1990s and its administration began industrial structural adjustment and capital re-organization.

"The area's geographical, policy and investment environment advantages have attracted a large number of world famous enterprises to set up here," Li said.

The manufacturing of electronics, machinery, automobile and pharmaceuticals has become the economic backbone of the area.

Li is proud of the achievements of large foreign companies including Toyota and Motorola in the area and the economic benefits these companies have brought to the development area.

Toyota made its first investment of US$1 billion in the area in 2001. Toyota Tianjin has attracted over 40 parts suppliers including Japan's Aisin, Fujitsu and Yazaki to the area over the past three years.

A group of South Korean companies have also entered the area to get a share of China's auto parts market.

These enterprises not only produce and market auto parts to enterprises in Tianjin and Beijing, but also ship them to South Korea and other foreign markets.

Five of China's 10 largest automobile electronics manufacturers can be found in the zone, Li said.

They are Motorola (China) Electronics Co Ltd, Tianjin Electronics Co Ltd, Fujitsu-Tianjin Electronics Co Ltd, Panasonic-Tianjin Auto Electronics Development Co Ltd and a joint venture established by Shenghang Electrical Shenzhen Co Ltd and the Hyundai Corporation of South Korea.

The Tianjin Electronics Co Ltd has increased its registered capital by US$25 million in registered capital and US$75 million in investment and bought 50,000 square metres of land for its production expansion.

The new investment will go to facilities for the production of electrical fuel injection systems, safety air bags, meters and other electronic equipment used in automobiles, Li said.

TEDA is also a centre for the manufacturing of electronic information products. The industry emerged in the area 10 years ago. Both the output value and sales income of the industry currently rank first among all industries in the area.

An IT industrial base with key manufacturing enterprises as the core which is surrounded by parts suppliers and firms providing packaging and logistics services has taken shape in the area.

About 150 firms currently provide services to Tianjin Motorola and 100 to Tianjin Samsung. These businesses annually provide over 400 products valued at 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) to IT manufacturing enterprises, Li told China Daily.

He predicted that TEDA's IT products' sales income may exceed 126 billion yuan (US$15 billion) next year. The amount is expected to jump to 280 billion yuan (US$33.7 billion) in 2010.

"TEDA will, on the one hand, spare no efforts to attract advanced IT equipment producers into the area, and on the other, create an ideal environment for enterprises producing key parts," he said.

The two sectors will enjoy equal treatment and are expected to develop hand in hand, he said.

(China Daily November 23, 2004)