ABSTRACT
The outlook for Hebei’s economy in 1999 is full of challenges, and yet is also replete with opportunities. In light of the global environment: the financial crisis, which started in the emerging market countries of Asia in 1997, soon spread to Japan, Russia, and South America, resulting in an economic recession in one-third of the world’s countries. In 1998, with both global and domestic challenges, the government’s policy of increasing investment in infrastructure as the starting point for economic stimulation was indispensible. Following the implementation of the central government and Hebei Provincial Government economic policy measures, the province’s economic growth rate has increased gradually. For Hebei province, the low rate of growth seen in industrial production was the major cause for the decline in enterprise profitability in 1998. Small- and medium-sized enterprises suffer from the lack of capital, lack of channels for loans, and lack of funds for technological renovation.
