Foreigners growing in China retail

The Chinese government said that 1160 foreign-owned stores opened last year. This is more than 25% of the total that had existed in China prior to the legal changes at the end of 2004 that opened the retail sector more fully to foreigners. The square footage represented a more than 50% increase.

The 2004 decision scrapped limits on the number or area of stores and the percentage of shares foreign companies are permitted to hold in the stores, Huang said. "They (foreign investors) moved quickly in the past year after restrictions were lifted at the end of 2004 in line with World Trade Organization commitments."

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