SHENZHEN will take a series of measures to ease repercussions brought by SARS on foreign investment, Wang Xiaochun, deputy director of Shenzhen Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, said Thursday.

After revealing that the city had registered phenomenal increases in foreign investment in the first four months of this year, Wang said the SARS effect on Shenzhen?¡¥s foreign investment sector had begun to appear, citing cancellations of a series of symposiums, negotiation sessions and visits by foreign business people.

"We??ve seen that the effect of the SARS outbreak is much bigger than that of the Iraqi War,"Wang said.

To counteract the effect brought about by SARS, Wang said the city would do its utmost to help existing foreign companies in Shenzhen solve difficulties resulting from the disease outbreak.

With people reluctant to travel these days, he said the city would step up online exchanges with the business world outside China in negotiating and promoting products and the investment environment.

According to Wang, Shenzhen will set up more business representative offices abroad. So far, it has only two?aone in Los Angeles in the United States and the other in Nuremberg in Germany.

Wang said Shenzhen??s industrial parks had proved effective in attracting investment because of their important role in helping businesses cut costs. Wang said Shenzhen had earmarked 100 square kilometers of land to build industrial parks.

Editor: James