THE chiefs of China's private enterprises have high expectations of the country's economic development and are also positive on the services, energy-efficient and high-tech sectors, they said yesterday during the first trial operation of the World Expo 2010.

The CEOs, including Alibaba.com Inc's Jack Ma and Shanghai Fosun Group's President Guo Guangchang, attended a debut ceremony for the Vigour Matrix show at the Shanghai Private Enterprise Pavilion. It's the only pavilion jointly invested by 16 Chinese private firms, including Fosun, Alibaba, Dalian Wanda Group Co and Jala Group Inc.

"Chinese private firms have grown rapidly in the past 30 years and the 5.6 million private enterprises are seeking opportunities to show the world their vigor, although the influence of the global financial crisis still exists," said Ma.

Founded by Ma, Alibaba has become China's No. 1 e-commerce firm involved in the business-to-business and online auction sectors.

Guo from Fosun, whose business covers pharmaceuticals and real estate, said that private firms should tap huge opportunities in services for consumers.

The policy and macro environment has created "another spring" in new energy, new materials, information technology, pharmaceutical and energy-efficient sectors, according to the China Universal Asset Management Co.

The Jala Group, which focuses on cosmetics products and services, has expanded overseas and developed foreign suppliers in Europe, the United States and Japan, according to Zheng Chunying, the company's president.

"We are confident of the business because the booming Chinese economy has boosted the people's demand for beauty," Zheng said.

Opple Lighting also has expanded its own brand in domestic and overseas markets. The Guangdong-based firm has invested in energy-saving LED (light emitting diode) products.