Chinese mainland firms are seeking to boost their foothold in London, taking advantage of the British city's strength as a capital market and the presence of a booming design and creative industry.

Last year, 30 Chinese mainland firms floated shares on the Alternative Investment Market, the London Stock Exchange's sub-market which caters to start-up firms, said officials with Think London, a foreign investment promotion agency.

So far 45 mainland firms have been listed on the sub-board and seven on the main board.

"London's attraction as a listing destination is growing especially after the threshold for the New York board was raised," said Victor Hu, chief representative of Think London China.

"Also, there's unprecedented interest from Chinese firms looking to establish a European base in London as they take the next step in the globalization of their businesses."

To date, more than 250 Chinese mainland firms have a presence in London which represents a third of total foreign direct investments from the mainland to the United Kingdom and 15 percent to Europe, according to Think London.

The agency said China's importance as a source of FDI is set to increase further based on industry forecast that China mainland's outflows of FDI will swell to US$70.1 billion by 2010, up from the US$16 billion last year.