Results of the National Private Businesses Sample Survey 2004 carried out by competent department of China were released in Beijing on Thursday. Statistics and analysis indicate that China's private economy is showing a trend of accelerated development and is getting increasingly closer to the mainstream of the economy and social life.

The survey is the sixth of its kind. It shows that by the first half of 2004 China's registered private businesses had reached 3,34 million, up by 1.31 million compared with 2001.

The regions where private businesses develop the fastest and with the greatest numbers are mainly concentrated in eastern costal areas. Of them the top 6 are Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong and Beijing. They account for more than half of China's private businesses. Private businesses are displaying a trend of comprehensive expansion, which is manifested by the tendency of their main business scope to grow multiplex and the extension of their industry distribution as market access is easing up. Newly-emerged industries such as social services and scientific research technologies are taking up fast-growing proportion. Private companies, which take as their main businesses such industries as education, culture, healthcare and sports, have made up 4 percent of the total number. About 1.6 percent of the companies have taken public undertakings such as electricity and gas as their main businesses.

By People's Daily Online