Survey finds most foreign consumer firms profitable

A KPMG survey of 136 foreign consumer companies operating in the mainland found 70% of them are making money or breaking even. KPMG found 23% were making significant profits and 47% breaking even, if not making modest profits. The survey found 93% were optimistic about their five-year prospects; one third expected their businesses to grow by 30% in 2005. KPMG said that China had 39 cities with populations of 2 million or higher, allowing different brands to make their mark. In one example it cited, KPMG said best-selling beer brands in the mainland's four largest cities were different in each case. But despite dramatic increases in consumer spending, a quarter of survey respondents said their biggest mistake was over-estimating the potential of the market.