Foreign firms face Beijing Games hurdles

Olympic projects between 2002 and the opening of the Games in 2008 are projected to cost RMB 134.9 billion (US$16.25 billion), but so far there has been little foreign participation in Olympic projects, Jones Day lawyer Ashley Howlett told the South China Morning Post, echoing complaints over legal hurdles foreign companies face. Foreign contractors working on multiple projects are required to form local joint ventures in which mainland partners must put up 33% of the registered capital, often prohibitive for local firms. Foreigners seeking to work on their own are limited to just four types of projects which must be funded by international lenders, unless the foreign firm is willing to put up at least 50 per cent of the capital. Foreign architects� firms must form joint ventures with Chinese architects to even bid on any project unless they can guarantee that one out of every three foreign architects employed is licensed to practice locally.