Chinese Multinationals Make Steady Progress

Press contact: Erin St. John Kelly [email protected]
212-854-1787/Cell 646-284-8549 / Public Affairs Office 212-854-2650

October 21, 2008 (NEW YORK) – The Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment, a joint center of Columbia Law School and The Earth Institute, and The School of Management at Fudan University release their first-ever ranking of large Chinese multinationals, based on their foreign assets. While not a ranking of the top Chinese MNEs (due to the difficulty of getting data), this is the first-ever ranking of major Chinese MNEs providing these data.

The Chinese government has encouraged the international expansion of Chinese multinationals since the beginning of this decade as a springboard to acquire strategic resources, expand into foreign markets and reduce market constraints at home. The 18 firms ranked have played a vital role in that expansion and had at least U.S. $79 billion in overseas assets as of the end of 2006, employed more than 120,000 persons abroad, and had U.S. $79 billion in sales by their foreign affiliates.

The release, rankings and data are available here, under embargo until October 22, 2008, 03:00 a.m., New York; 08:00 a.m., Oct. 22, London; 15:00p.m., Oct. 22, Shanghai.  The release and rankings are also available in Chinese and Spanish. They will also be available at www.vcc.columbia.edu and www.fdms.fudan.edu.cn after the embargo is lifted.

For further information please contact: Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment, Karl P. Sauvant, Executive Director, (212) 854-0689, [email protected] or Lisa Sachs, Program Coordinator, [email protected].

The Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment promotes learning, teaching, policy-oriented research and practical work within the area of foreign direct investment, paying special attention to the sustainable development dimension of this investment. It is a joint center of Columbia Law School and The Earth Institute at Columbia University.

The School of Management at Fudan University is one of the most influential business schools in China. It has developed a strong faculty with a wide range of expertise, strong academic credentials and rich teaching experience. The school aims to become a world-class business school, keeping pace with China's rapid growth and emerging world importance while at the same time anticipating the challenges of the future.

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, stands at the forefront of legal education and of the law in a global society. Columbia Law School joins traditional strengths in international and comparative law, constitutional law, administrative law, business law and human rights law with pioneering work in the areas of intellectual property, digital technology, sexuality and gender, and criminal law.