The France welcomes investment from Chinese enterprises in France

The France invites Chinese companies to invest in France, said Friday Remi Girardot, director of the French Agency for international investment in China.

Mr. Girardot made the remarks on the sidelines of the 2007 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held from April 20 to 22 in Boao, a coastal town in the island province of Hainan (South) .

With the economic boom, the Chinese government has more money to invest abroad. China announced the establishment of a special agency for investments abroad, and the total investment could reach $ 200 billion, said Mr. Girardot.

Europe is a large market if Chinese companies want to become international, they must take account of Europe, said Girardot.

La France is a very open country. In France, an employee working for seven foreign firms, against one in ten in England and one in twenty in the United States. France has established regulations and policies to encourage foreign investment, according to the director.

Since 2000, investments by Chinese companies in France have increased remarkably, especially in electronic industries and telecommunications.

Last year, the companies China National BlueStar Corporation acquired the business of organic silicon of the French companies Rhodia at a price of 500 million euros, the largest annexation that Chinese companies have completed in France .

According to a report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2007, France currently ranks third in terms of direct investment abroad with a total of 88.4 billion dollars in 2006, up 39% year on year. And China ranks fourth with a total of 70 billion dollars.