5 - The development of foreign banks’ customers in China

Abstract

This chapter analyses the response of foreign enterprises toward central government control, i.e. the development of foreign MNCs, which has subsequently influenced the development of foreign banks in China. Among the MNCs established by investors from the four main regions, i.e. Hong Kong, Japan, the U.S. and Europe, Hong Kong MNCs had the highest share in low-technology manufacturing industries, while US MNCs had the highest share in high-technology industries. The share of European MNCs in high technology was higher than that of the Japanese. Hong Kong MNCs had the highest share in terms of labour- intensiveness, while European MNCs had the highest capital-intensive share. The capital-intensive share of US MNCs was higher than that of Japanese MNCs. Investors from Hong Kong considered cost savings more important than market access, while those from the U.S. emphasised market access rather than cost savings.