American firms have invested about 10.8 billion dollars in China.

American financial firms pushed hard for this change because they wanted easy access to these growing markets.

The activities of big American firms are spread around the world.

Increasingly, the common element is players, many of them American firms.

Still, executives at American firms said they were happy to have the chance.

That compared with prime rates for American firms of 10% or so.

American and European firms are unlikely to get much of a look in.

But at least one American firm has entered the field.

Still, American firms believe increasingly that they cannot stay away.

- Well as it is an American firm that has taken over,then they really don't stand a chance.