23. Several Eastern European countries, as well as China and the Soviet Union, additionally took historic steps to open their economies to a controlled inflow of foreign direct investment . In early 1989, nearly 200 joint ventures were reported in the USSR. 13/ But the number of joint ventures appears to be growing every day. According to recent estimates, by September 1989 more than 900 joint ventures had been registered in the USSR 14/ and by 1990 some 1,000 joint venture agreements are expected to have been signed. ll/ In Poland, the number of joint ventures registered by September 1989 are estimated to be about 1,330 (including some 800 °Polonia" firms), .l.2/ and in Hungary about 600. 17/ These actions suggest that group D countries will play a more active part in the consideration of foreign direct investment issues in future United Nations discussi ons and offer the possibility for expanded common ground to the extent that these countries act as both home and host locations. 24. The number of transnational corporations based in cleveloping countries has increased also. But those enterprises come from a relativel y small number of countries and are concentrated primarily in extraction and mineral-processing industries or in low-wage manufacturing sectors . Only a few transnational corporations from developing countries have individually penetrated developed market economies to establish an internal investment position. 25. The sectoral composition of transnational corporations based in developed countrie s has expanded into several new areas. Technological change brought advances in micro computers, robotics, fiber optics, and ceramics which alter the structure of some industrial patterns, while near-horizon developments in such fields as genetic engineering and super-conductivity promise to create whole new sectors of productive endeavors. Thus far, these industrial activities are concentrated in the advanced developed countries, in terms both of innovation and 
**Analysis**
The text primarily discusses the increasing trend of foreign direct investment in Eastern European countries, China, and the Soviet Union, as well as the growth of transnational corporations based in developing countries. It also touches on the expansion of industrial activities in advanced developed countries. The text does not mention any specific environmental or agricultural issues, and the focus is more on economic development and international trade.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade