The Institutional Foundation of Foreign-Invested Enterprises (FIEs) in China

Abstract

Foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) are now an important component of the Chinese economy. Since 1992, the growth of FIEs has been exponential. However our understanding of the institutional factors driving the FIE growth remains limited. This paper uses data from 39 industries in China for a period of three years (1995-1997) to explore the institutional foundation of the FIE growth. Our findings suggest that the debt obligations on the part of the SOEs and the local control of the SOEs promote the growth of FIEs and that some of the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows result in acquisition of existing assets and shift asset controls from SOEs to FIEs.