Foreign firms become larger in China

BEIJING -- Foreign-funded enterprises have become larger in terms of registered capital in China this year but their number is shrinking, according to data released by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on Friday.

China had 439,300 overseas-funded enterprises at the end of May, 7,200 fewer than last year-end, but their registered capital had expanded to 11.6 trillion yuan ($1.83 trillion), up 700 billion yuan from last year-end, the SAIC said.

The SAIC blamed the declining number of foreign business in China on the ongoing global financial crisis.

"But the Chinese market remains very attractive to foreign businesses, since overseas-funded enterprises are boosting their financial strength in the country with more registered funding," said a spokesman for the SAIC.

Meanwhile, more Chinese are opening up businesses in the country, with the number of domestic enterprises reaching 12.54 million at the end of May, 3.67 percent higher than last year-end, according to the data.

Also, China had 38.61 million self-employed businessmen at the end of May, while the number of farming cooperatives rose 11.6 percent from last year-end to 582,200 units.