Business Hungers for Beijing Olympics

July 13 -- The International Olympics Committee made Beijing's dream of hosting the 2008 Games a reality — and gave a boost to many business leaders around the world.

Today, when some 100 former athletes and associated luminaries gathered in Moscow, the IOC picked Beijing over Paris, Toronto, Istanbul, Turkey, and Osaka, Japan. Experts say markets may jump — especially for those companies associated with China or the Olympics, or both.

That's because a Beijing Olympics is expected to have a major influence on the country's economic development over the coming years, as well as the many companies trying to tap its attractive market of 1.3 billion consumers.

U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs says it estimates a Beijing Olympics would boost China's gross domestic product by 0.3 percent per year from 2002 to 2008.

"Hosting the 2008 Olympic Games would bring long-term permanent benefits to China," Goldman Sachs economist Fred Hu told Reuters.

Spending Spree

The first Chinese Olympics in history is expected to prompt the country to embark on a huge infrastructure spending spree.

Things that need to be done include constructing sports facilities, housing, roads, airport terminals, transit railways and telecom infrastructure and launching projects to reduce industrial pollution.

Such an effort will cost $20 billion, according to a recent report by Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia.

Stock market watchers say many speculators are snapping up any stock with "Beijing" in its name in hopes of profiting from a the expected spending boom.

Local businesses such as developer China Resources Beijing Land, tourism software firm TravelSky Technology and Beijing Capital Airport have all risen by nearly a third in the past three months.

The IOC's big sponsors, like Coca-Cola, Eastman Kodak and McDonald's, also stand to gain from a Beijing Olympics.

Not only are they already heavily invested in the 2008 Games, but they are among the handful of American companies that have made a successful investment in China.