President and CEO of UPM-Kymmene Corporation of Finland, one of the top 500 global enterprises and one of leading enterprises in global forestry industrial enterprises, cast good expectations in the potential of the Chinese market on Monday.

Jussi Pesonen, President and CEO of UPM said that China has become the most important platform for UPM's production and sale in the Asia and Pacific Region.

Mr. Pesonen came to China to attend the 2005 Fortune Forum being held from Monday to Wednesday in Beijing.

"The Chinese market has become one of the most important sectors of UPM's global strategy. With the rapid growth of China's economy, we expect an expansion of paper and paper products market of the country, in which we will invest more in the future," he said.

As the largest printing paper supplier in the world, UPM has invested one billion US dollars in paper making and refinery in China and so has become the largest foreign investor in the country's paper making industry.

Already boasting three mills in China, UPM expects the fourth one being constructed in Changshu city of East China's Jiangsu Province to have an annual culture paper and office paper yield capacity of 800 thousand tons after its world most advanced paper making facilities being put into operation in the second quarter of this year.

As a paper making enterprise, UPM has a good reputation in environmental protection and natural resources sustainable development, said Soile Korhone, Vice President of UPM Business Development Asia Pacific Region and Chief Representative of UPM in China.

According to her, UPM's all raw materials for paper making are from artificial forest boasting forest certification and all plants of the UPM in the world have got the certification of the ISO 14001 environmental management system.

As China still has no its own forest certification system, all wood pulp used by UPM in China are imported.

Soile Korhone said that UPM has some communications with related institutions of China on the establishment of a forest certification system and that if China establish its own in the future, UPM will comply strictly to it.

As a forest product enterprise of the longest history in Finland, UPM has plants in 16 countries throughout the world with its business covering a variety fields including paper making, paper product refinery and wood product.

Boasting a sale volume of 13 billion US dollars in 2004, UPM saw the market share of the Asia Pacific Region accounting for five percent of its global market. With the increase of UPM's yield capacity in China, the market share is expected to rise to ten percent, said Mr. Pesonen.

Mr. Pesonen is holding a good expectation for the ongoing Fortune Forum.

"It will be a golden opportunity for world entrepreneurs including me to understand the developing trend of China's economy," said Pesonen.

Source: Xinhua