The service program, sponsored by the Beijing Foreign Investment Service Center, includes information consultation, investment project offers, help with registration, and the handling of complaints and related industrial and commercial procedures.

According to an official at the center, the new program will save investors some 50 to 150 yuan in fees.

The program is aimed at simplifying the registration procedures for investors, improving the city's investment environment and promoting work efficiency of government departments.

In the first 11 months in 2001, Beijing approved applications for the establishment of 1,033 foreign-funded enterprises, involving a total investment of 3.54 billion yuan (US$426.5 million), up 63.2 percent over the same period in 2000.

(China Daily January 2, 2002)