Speaking on behalf of the president of the Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs Association, Dhanin said members from around the world had vowed to support China to pursue its resettlement and reconstruction work after the quake that killed about 70,000 people and made millions homeless.

He said that the CP Group, which operates livestock and food operations in quake-hit provinces including Sichuan, the epicentre of the earthquake, was ready to invest to build modern farm villages to speed up rehabilitation for farmers. The concept would involve encouraging farmers to apply new techniques and more effective farm management to increase revenue.

In 2007, CP was among companies chosen by China to help modernise the farm sector in six provinces: Shanxi, Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui. The programme, with a budget of 100 bln yuan, aims to narrow the income gap between urban and rural residents.

The Chinese authorities have yet to respond to the approach by Dhanin, who recently brought 25 leading businessmen from many countries to visit the damaged sites. The association also donated 2 bln billion yuan or about 10 billion baht to the government to carry out relief and reconstruction work.