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hinese finance ministry officials in late May 2005 announced that they would gradually phase out corporate tax breaks for foreign companies.
      Given the exigencies of getting to China for so many companies in so many sectors, it was only a matter of time before the price of admission climbed. But whether such measures will slow down the arrivals is highly in doubt, as what used to be the low-end dumping ground for manufacturing has evolved into the high-end platform for Asian R&D.
      In February 2005, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., based in Osaka, Japan, said it plans to hire 2,000 newly graduated engineers in China by March 2008, part of its goal to double sales in the country by March 2007 to US$9.51 billion. "We need people not only for our sales operations but also to strengthen development and design," said company spokesman Katsumi Takahashi.
      Matsushita, which already operates 45 manufacturing facilities in China and is building more, is just one of scores of multinationals in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to semiconductors to machinery that are finding Chinese talent to be as lucrative as the Chinese marketplace. But will the country's housing, transportation and power infrastructure keep pace?