HongKongChina

Do you know our dues paying members attend events sponsored by our collaboration partners worldwide at their membership rates - go to our event page to find out more! After attended a China/Hong Kong Business/Trade Seminar in Hawaii...still unsure what to do next, contact us, our Officers, Directors and Founding Members are actively engaged in China/Hong Kong/Asia trade - we can help!

FDA Bio-terrorism Rules About to Take Effect on December 12, 2003 - Go to our "Trade Issues" Page for Detail

Are you ready to export your product or service? You will find out in 3 minutes with resources to help you - enter to give it a try

Hong Kong: Public approval of the central government's policies towards Hong Kong has plunged in the past 12 months, according to results of a survey released ahead of tomorrow's protest.

3G technology has too many restrictions and its development is still at a very immature stage. Hutchison Whampoa managing director Canning Fok Kin-ning yesterday suggested that the company could again face a shortage of mobile phones - but this time for the right reasons, as subscribers rush to sign up for 3G services.

The telecommunications regulator suffered another setback yesterday after the Executive Council at the last minute called off a meeting to approve changes to the agency's fixed-line interconnection policy.

Tom Group will be the first company to transfer its listing to the main board from the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), after being granted a number of waivers by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.

Hong Kong will have an interim chief information officer in place this week to lead the city's information technology development initiatives.

China: Former South African president Nelson Mandela meets Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, who is visiting the nation to improve ties.

Huang Yantian , the flamboyant chairman of the collapsed Guangdong International Trust and Investment Corp (Gitic), has been jailed for 14 years - the final chapter in a sorry saga which spooked investors in Hong Kong and around the world.

Henan province's government has been asked to speed up the search for HIV carriers who are unaware they have the virus, Vice-Minister of Health Wang Longde said yesterday.

The damming of the Mekong river to help power the mainland's economy could pose a grave threat to the livelihoods of millions of Southeast Asian farmers and fishermen within a decade, an Australian researcher said yesterday.

One of the central government's main mouthpieces is making new inroads into Hong Kong, after winning a contract to provide sports-related video content for captive passengers on Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) routes.

China overtook the United States as a recipient of foreign direct investment in 2003 as companies broadened their strategies in emerging markets.

Piracy remains a top concern for the Chinese software industry, although there are signs of improvement, a report released yesterday by government and industrial agencies in Beijing says.

The Bank of China, the country's largest foreign exchange bank, said yesterday it would issue subordinated debt worth 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) to replenish its capital base ahead of a planned initial public offering next year.

The four urban rail projects in Beijing will offer ample opportunities for domestic and foreign investors, according to analysts.

Hong Kong: Asia's richest woman, Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum, yesterday lost the latest battle with her father-in-law for control of the $27 billion Chinachem empire when the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that her husband's will leaving her the company was forged.

The number of mainland tour groups coming to Hong Kong around the time of Thursday's protest will be down by nearly 80 per cent, tour operators say.

All Hong Kong citizens can get a home return permit, a senior mainland official reiterated yesterday in response to reports that several pro-democracy figures may have their bans lifted.

Standard Chartered is spending HK$980 million to acquire personal loan specialist PrimeCredit as it looks to make inroads into the lower end of Hong Kong's consumer credit market.

HSBC Holdings will need an unambiguous agreement on non-performing loans, managerial control and other issues before signing a deal to buy 20 per cent of the Bank of Communications (Bocom), director David Eldon said yesterday.

Hong Kong has slipped down the ranks of markets running the industry's fastest supercomputers, according to the latest survey of the top 500 systems worldwide.

Hong Kong's exports grew for the 24th straight month in May due to the mainland's robust economic growth, but economists said the pace will probably slow later this year as a result of China's attempts to rein in its overheating economy.

China: Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday marked China's 50-year-old doctrine of peace by declaring the nation will never threaten any countries, pursue expansion or seek hegemony.

Loans to key sectors of the economy, including energy and communications, will continue to be encouraged despite concerns about overheating, a top banking regulator says.

Systematic investigations into the finances of top-level Communist Party bodies and political organisations such as the National People's Congress will be launched this year by the National Audit Administration, a report says.

An Arizona car dealer is gearing up to become the first to sell a full line of Chinese-made vehicles in the United States at Wal-Mart-style prices he hopes will lure tens of thousands of buyers.

A ERJ145 regional jet at the delivery ceremony in Harbin yesterday. The two jets were part of an order for six ERJ145s that China Southern agreed to purchase earlier this year.

China is optimistic that a framework agreement for the new round of WTO negotiations would be issued by the end of July, a senior Chinese trade official said yesterday.

China's financial authorities yesterday took a further step to complete a regulatory regime under which banking, securities and insurance are separately regulated.

China and Argentina signed five agreements yesterday in Beijing to bolster their relationship, which is an important component of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner's six-day state visit to China.

Hong Kong: Feeling the heat as the mercury climbs during a visit to Japanese encephalitis hotspot Palm Springs yesterday, a conciliatory Tung Chee-hwa tries to lower the city's political temperature, saying he will listen humbly to people's views. Attempts by Beijing, the Hong Kong government and democrats to show sincerity intensified yesterday as all sides took further steps towards strengthened ties.

Passes for the PLA's open day on Thursday were snapped up yesterday after a morning of frenzied queuing.

The individual traveler scheme may be extended to Jiangxi by the end of the year, the province's governor Huang Zhiquan said yesterday.

A new lawyers' group comprised of pro-Beijing figures has vowed to facilitate talks between the central government and the democrats, including lobbying officials to let them visit the mainland.

Luen Thai Holdings, Hong Kong's biggest garment maker, is planning a share offer to raise funds to finance expansion in the mainland. This is in preparation for a seismic shift in the global textile landscape after the abolition of national export quotas in January next year.

The Hong Kong government has launched a four-month consultation to solicit public’s views on measures to combat spam, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr John Tsang, announced on Friday.

Customers look at zero-tariff products made in Hong Kong at a specialized trading market, which opened yesterday in Qingdao, Shandong Province. From January to May, a total of US$42.3 million worth of Hong Kong goods entered the mainland without duties.

China: A dissident actor and filmmaker barred from entering the mainland since the June 4 crackdown in 1989 will soon be able to shoot movies there.

When the US Federal Reserve Bank meets tomorrow and Wednesday, the world will be eagerly anticipating the extent to which its chairman, Alan Greenspan, will raise interest rates.

Hopes that Shenzhen's administrative reforms could signal the start of political change on the mainland were dashed when the city revealed its plans in March. But the mayor still pins the city's future on the promise of reforms.

Investigations into allegations of Chinese products being dumped on foreign markets are likely to increase, a senior mainland official has warned.

The Shanghai municipal government has ordered state companies under its control to halt trading activities on the mainland stock markets by Wednesday, in an effort to reduce their risk exposure and to stem irregular practices among brokerages.

Transmile Group is to list its freight forwarding arm, Cen Worldwide, as the Kuala Lumpur-based air cargo company expands its presence in the lucrative China market and beyond in co-operation with Hong Kong's Kerry Logistics Group.

The Shenzhen company that produced the mainland's first DVD and became a model for state-owned high-technology firms has largely ceased production and is looking for foreign investors.

Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh (C), Former Indian President Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1st L) and Chinese Ambassador to India Hua Junduo attend a reception marking the 50th anniversary of the initiation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, in New Delhi, India, June 25, 2004. The five principles were first initiated by late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in early 1954 while meeting with an Indian delegation. Then in June of the same year, Zhou visited India and Burma (now called Myanmar) and issued communiques based on the five principles.

As an eight-month exhibit on Sino-US ties forged during their joint fight against Japanese aggressors during World War II came to an end on Friday, a senior curator said the retrospect really gave more reasons for the two countries to promote friendship.

China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group) and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the nation's second and third largest oil companies, have set up a joint venture to import crude oil. The joint venture makes CNOOC the fifth largest crude oil importer in China.

Alcatel Shanghai Bell (ASB), Alcatel's joint venture in Shanghai, is close to wrapping up a deal with a domestic company to develop TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), the Chinese homegrown 3G standard.

The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) will open an office in Shanghai early next year to help seek investment opportunities in China for US venture capitalists, a senior manager with the US bank said over the weekend.

Chinese enterprises must step up efforts to design their own intellectual property right (IPR) development strategies, IPR experts suggested last week.

Hong Kong: A government minister yesterday revealed details of the lobbying effort by Beijing that helped Hong Kong land a world telecommunications event.

Hong Kong students planning to study in mainland universities will meet challenges in their academic and social lives, a group of local students say.

Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa last night said he was very concerned about the public reaction to the Legco report on Harbor Fest.

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp is in talks to take a 19.9 per cent stake in the Bank of Communications (Bocom), the mainland's fifth-largest lender, but key terms of the deal remain unresolved.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) said it is finally in touch with Far East Pharmaceutical Technology's missing chairman and is currently investigating matters ``worth its attention''.

KPMG expects the new accounting standard on financial instruments will have significant impact on the banking sector in Hong Kong as it would revamp the way lenders do their provisioning.

China: Vice-Governor Jiang Jufeng says Hong Kong can develop a "headquarters economy". Sichuan officials yesterday pledged to encourage more local companies to set up headquarters in Hong Kong under the pan-Pearl River Delta regional co-operation framework.

A total of 131 million yuan allocated to the Chinese Olympic Committee has been misused since 1999, a report by the state's top auditor alleges.

US Commerce Secretary Donald Evans and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao have hailed their four-day visit to the mainland as a victory for Sino-US trade.

Ping An chairman Peter Ma monitors trade in the insurance group's shares, which put on a lacklustre performance on their debut. The much-hyped debut of Ping An Insurance (Group) fell flat yesterday, disappointing the market on a day Hong Kong and China stocks soared.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is in talks with regional governments in the northeast rust belt to sell non-performing loans worth tens of billions of yuan in a novel experiment that could lead to the creation of a model for asset disposals across the country.

Citigroup has suspended two senior bankers, including the daughter-in-law of former premier Zhao Ziyang, for presenting false information. It has pledged to work with regulators to resolve the situation.

Citic Pacific and Compagnie Generale des Eaux (CGE) of France will set up two joint ventures to handle the operation and maintenance of water treatment plants in Zunyi in Guizhou province.

Hong Kong: The Director of Audit should consider investigating other Invest HK-organized events to avoid a repeat of the Harbor Fest fiasco, a Legco inquiry report has recommended. The idea of organising an international music festival was fraught with peril from the start, the Public Accounts Committee report says, and things went downhill from there. Political parties yesterday demanded the government take swift action to demote or transfer InvestHK chief Mike Rowse to punish him for his role in the Harbour Fest fiasco. A defiant Mike Rowse yesterday vowed not to resign and said he would defend himself if the government launched disciplinary action against him over Harbor Fest.

Under a slate-grey sky, workers put the finishing touches on an advertisement for Aqua Fantasia, a fountain show at the Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui. The 10-minute display will project movies and still images of Hong Kong on a screen of water 10 metres wide and 10 metres high, created by 700 water-pool jets. The $5 million show kicks off the Shopping Festival which begins on Saturday.

China: A Yellow River boating trip for Communist Party members from a chemical factory ended in disaster when one vessel overturned in heavy rain, killing at least one person and leaving another 43 missing.

Former executives of the State Power Corporation were responsible for disastrous financial problems uncovered at the now-defunct electricity monopoly, the mainland's top auditor reported yesterday.

Guangzhou Party Secretary Lin Shusen has been assigned to become governor of Fujian , but it is not yet known if he will take up the job. Sources say he is awaiting appointment papers.

The central government has come to the aid of Bank of China and China Construction Bank for the second time in six months, by subsidising their disposal of non-performing loans with a face value of about 280 billion yuan.

China remains the Asia-Pacific's No1 target for cross-border mergers and acquisitions, retaining its cachet in the face of an altogether flat first half for the rest of the globe, which saw percentage falls in activity, according to international consultants KPMG.

Hang Lung Properties will continue to invest heavily in the mainland despite the resumption of government land sales in Hong Kong.

The central government has bowed to insurers' demands to be allowed to invest their growing pool of premiums overseas, meaning US$8 billion could flow into markets such as Hong Kong.

Hutchison Whampoa is urging the telecommunications watchdog to extend the mobile licence for its ageing CDMA technology for another five years before the regulator switches the spectrum over to third-generation usage.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has tied up with ADM Capital to launch a fund that will invest in distressed assets in Asia. The Asian lending bank announced yesterday that the partners have raised an initial US$138 million (HK$1.08 billion) in an exercise that is expected to raise US$500 million.

A possible write down by China Telecom on the 10 provincial networks it recently acquired and the per-share earnings dilution after it placed new shares to fund the purchase are weighing on the company's rating and stock target price, analysts say.

Hong Kong: Members of the Fire Services Department team celebrate their win in the Financial Secretary Cup at yesterday's dragon boat races at Sha Tin. Their victory wasn't cheered by some rivals, who complained that the firefighters set off too early. Rowers of all ages took part in the festival - including a 91-year-old competitor in the first-ever dragon boat race for the elderly.

Hong Kong people can use all forms of expression to fight for democracy, the state leader in charge of the city's affairs said yesterday. But they should act for the benefit of "one country, two systems", as well as the stability and prosperity of the city.

Performers from the People's Liberation Army's arts troupe hold a dress rehearsal at the Hong Kong Coliseum for their show tonight, part of the celebrations to mark the seventh anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Invest HK chief Mike Rowse faces a broad range of punishments, from a reprimand to dismissal, when the report on the Harbour Fest fiasco is released today.

Bill Clinton found Jiang Zemin "intriguing, funny and fiercely proud", and while Tung Chee-hwa is an "intelligent, sophisticated man", he had the clear impression after meeting the chief executive and Martin Lee Chu-ming in 1998 that both were unhappy with the details of the handover.

China: Hunan is trying to improve its investment environment, banning the collection of random fees and pushing for a pro-business attitude among officials, Vice-Governor Yu Youjun says.

Foreign ministers and senior officials of 22 Asian nations yesterday affirmed the need for regional co-operation and launched an initiative searching for energy security.

Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday sought to allay fears about the mainland's efforts to slow the scorching pace of economic growth, while acknowledging the economy's performance had become an issue of concern for the international community.

China's new reciprocal air services agreement with the United States will rewrite the aviation rule book in Asia, and protectionist governments not up to the challenge will watch the new era of open skies from the ground.

Ping An Insurance (Group)'s $14.3 billion initial share offering - the year's largest - has drawn subscriptions from retail investors for more than 58 times the available shares.

Huawei Technologies, China's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, is on course to achieve US$2 billion in sales revenue from overseas markets this year after posting a strong first-quarter performance.

China has entered an elite group of countries making the world's fastest supercomputers, as a high-performance system in Shanghai took 10th place in a recent ranking of the 500 fastest systems globally.

Hong Kong: A pedestrian passes next to a poster outside a bar showing an England soccer fan as flags of countries participating in the Euro 2004 Championship in Portugal decorated Hong Kong's Lan Kwai Fong nightlife and entertainment. European soccer is very popular in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Jockey club now allows betting on soccer matches.

Long unpaid leave for civil servants is being considered by the government to help trim the multibillion-dollar payroll.

Supporting the filming of Hollywood blockbuster Tomb Raider and getting seawater to flush through 80 per cent of Hong Kong's toilets have been highlighted by the civil service as two of its greatest achievements.

Hong Kong will have a 150-metre tall fountain - the world's tallest - if the government awards the West Kowloon cultural district project to Henderson Land Development.

Bank of East Asia chairman and chief executive David Li Kwok-po, 64, has won board approval to extend his term at the helm of Hong Kong's fifth-largest lender for up to five years.

The organisers of CommunicAsia, encouraged by the success of this year's event, are preparing to significantly expand the telecoms trade fair in Singapore in 2006 in a move that threatens to upstage a similar event to be held in Hong Kong that same year.

Consumer prices in Hong Kong fell marginally less than expected in May, reflecting a steady upward trend in prices. Economists expect the economy to pull out of its long deflationary spiral by the third quarter this year.

A dogfight has broken out between Cathay Pacific Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways over plans by the British carrier to launch flights between Hong Kong and Australia in December.

Moody's Investors Service said Hutchison Whampoa's current A3 debt rating is at risk of being lowered if its much-touted third-generation (3G) subscriber growth or average revenue per user (Arpu) fail to hit their targets.

China: A giant panda Yuhin sits in a cage at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, western Japan on Monday before it leaves for China for a breeding mission.

Guangdong will continue to develop sectors of its economy in direct competition with Hong Kong, even as a regional co-operation group is being created, provincial governor Huang Huahua says. Agreements on co-operation in tourism and environmental conservation will be signed by the nine southern mainland provinces, Hong Kong and Macau next month, Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua said.

Beijing and Washington yesterday signed four letters of understanding aimed at improving work safety and protecting workers' rights on the mainland.

An initiative to enhance regional energy security through joint exploration, develop renewable energy sources and build infrastructure is expected to be adopted at a meeting in Qingdao this week.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies will set up a hard disk-drive manufacturing centre in Shenzhen, a US$500 million project that could eventually create 14,000 jobs for the city.

The Chinese government is calling on internet service providers to sign a 'self-discipline pact' meant to stop the spread of information that could harm national security as defined by Beijing.

A lengthy delay in granting third-generation (3G) cellular licences in China may spur more mainland consumers to obtain multiple mobile phone service subscriptions.

The third-round Beijing six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula will begin this week as scheduled. What is to be discussed and what result will be achieved in the talks?

Hong Kong-listed China Resources Power Holdings is planning to build four more 600,000 kilowatt generating units in Hubei, valued at about US$980 million (HK$7.64 billion), provincial vice-governor Han Zhongxue said yesterday.

China's semiconductor market will increase 33 per cent this year to reach US$39.7 billion (HK$309.66 billion), driven by heavy investment by equipment makers and strong demand for electronic products, making it the world's third-largest, research firm Gartner has predicted.

Hong Kong: The volatile property market received another blow yesterday with the KCRC's announcement that it will put five big housing projects - with more than 13,600 flats - up for tender from next year.

Executive Councilor Tsang Yok-sing has urged the government to appoint a panel of constitutional experts from Hong Kong, the mainland and overseas to help design a new political framework for the city.

A young gay man is poised to mount an historic challenge to the constitutionality of the different ages of sexual consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals under Hong Kong law.

The West Kowloon cultural district project is not only a battleground for property developers, it is also a competition between the world's top architects and engineers.

The recent police raid of an office in the Central Tower has no relation to the Macau Jockey Club, its directors and Angela Leung On-kei, wife of casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun, Onshine Securities said yesterday.

Chipmaker CSMC Technologies Corp has called off a Hong Kong share offering of up to $683.1 million - the first mainland company to ditch listing plans in 15 months amid weakening demand from investors.

China: Britain and China conducted their first joint naval exercises off Qingdao in Shandong province yesterday. A British Royal Navy helicopter from the guided missile destroyer HMS Exeter lands on a Chinese naval vessel off the port of Qingdao.

Central Military Commission chairman and former president Jiang Zemin has promoted 15 senior officers to the rank of full general. It brings to 79 the number of generals he has hand-picked since 1993.

The mainland could have as many as 40 million private investors - businesspeople who finance and run companies with more than eight employees - by 2010, the head of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce predicts.

State-owned China Ocean Shipping Group (Cosco) is close to appointing bankers to guide the listing of its dedicated container-shipping arm through the increasingly turbulent waters for China plays.

Hainan Airlines has paid 400 million yuan to buy the airport serving the Three Gorges Dam, after the government stepped in to block its takeover by a young private firm.

China's strategy on oil security ran contradictory to the US oil strategy? Fiona Hill, senior researcher with US Brookings Institute accepted an interview.

Just as mainland tourists throng to the streets of Mong Kok and Causeway Bay looking for quality at bargain prices, Hong Kong retailers are heading to the mainland hoping to cash in on the growth of buying power across the border.

Hong Kong may have lost much of its middleman appeal for the goods trade as China has opened up to foreign firms, but it is emerging as an important intermediary for financial services and capital exchanges between the mainland and the West.

A worsening power shortage has been forcing China to speed up national expansion of renewable energy sources and is considering making it compulsory for power grids to buy electricity generated from small hydro, wind, solar and bio-mass power projects.

Hong Kong: Bosses of a Hong Kong-listed pharmaceutical firm could not be contacted yesterday after its stock was suspended from trading following a share price plunge of more than 90 per cent amid panic selling.

Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa set no preconditions yesterday when he pledged to help pro-democracy activists regain access to the mainland, in what was seen as a significant softening of his stance.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen yesterday pledged to avoid "unhealthy competition" as they signed eight agreements to boost co-operation.

Vocalist Chester Bennington of Linkin Park goes into overdrive during the bands concert at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai last night. Linkin Park also have gigs in Bangkok and Singapore on their Southeast Asian tour.

Hong Kong's unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level in more than two years, buoying hopes of an improving jobs picture through the summer months.

DAB chief Ma Lik will meet public security officials in Beijing today in an effort to secure entry to the city for some of the mainland abode seekers who have stayed on illegally in Hong Kong after being denied the right to settle.

Al-Qaeda terrorists studied security at airports including Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok, and conducted surveillance on airlines in Asia, before attacking America on September 11, 2001, the US commission probing the attacks has found.

A consortium headed by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings is one of three shortlisted bidders for the C$600 million (HK$3.41 billion), 100km highway project from Vancouver to the Canadian ski resort of Whistler (above), Cheung Kong Infrastructure said yesterday. A Cheung Kong spokeswoman said the bidding process had not finished and the company had no further comment.

PCCW and Australian partner Telstra Corp have agreed to settle US$1.2 billion in loans to their undersea cable joint venture for just $311 million, which should put the operation on a firmer financial footing.

A plan by Sun Hung Kai Properties to develop an $8 billion hotel-retail-office project in Shanghai's financial district could face delays, with restaurant owners refusing to vacate their premises until the original owner compensates them.

The booths of mobile phone manufacturers Samsung, Panasonic, LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson are easily the darlings of the crowd at this year's edition of CommunicAsia, the region's biggest trade show for telecommunications products, with a dazzling display of the latest gizmos.

China: A woman is delighted to have won a TV at the launch of a real estate project in Beijing, where 900 prime sites are waiting to be sold.

The central government has moved to assert its authority over municipal land sales in Beijing, with the aim of cleaning up the capital's property sector.

President Hu Jintao and his counterparts from Russia and four Central Asian nations fortified their security alliance yesterday, inaugurating an anti-terrorism centre and promising to support Afghanistan in bolstering its stability.

Volkswagen, the mainland's biggest foreign carmaker, yesterday slashed car prices by up to 11.7 per cent, matching General Motors and heating up their intense rivalry in a decelerating market.

The mainland's No2 mobile carrier, China Unicom, yesterday posted its fourth consecutive month of weak subscriber growth amid heated competition in the world's biggest cellular market.

President Hu Jintao addresses the Uzbek Parliament in Tashkent, June 16, putting forward a proposal for further developing relations with Central Asia.

Hong Kong: The government expects a windfall of tens of billions of dollars to help cut its budget deficit after amendments designed to combat "aggressive tax avoidance schemes" was passed yesterday.

The number of millionaires in Hong Kong rose 30 per cent last year as the economy rebounded from the Sars outbreak and a prolonged decline in the property market, a study finds.

The world's first computer virus that can infect advanced mobile phones has been created. The worm, named Cabir, was sent to two overseas computer security companies by underground virus writers to highlight the vulnerability of mobile phones.

Police Commissioner Dick Lee Ming-kwai (right) views exhibits at the security trade fair in Wan Chai, which officers believe is being targeted by mainland criminal gangs. Hong Kong faces a credible threat of a "dirty bomb" attack by terrorists, and security forces are on heightened alert and ready to respond around the clock, a security conference heard yesterday.

Hong Kong women's obsession with lily-white skin has hit a new high, with almost half having used skin-whitening cosmetics, according to a regional survey released yesterday.

Spending on advertising by Hong Kong telecom companies jumped 163 per cent to HK$62.93 million in May with dominant fixed-line operator PCCW topping the list after doubling its expenditure.

The Hong Kong Society of Accountants (HKSA) plans to introduce sweeping changes to investment property accounting rules which could result in increased earnings volatility for listed firms.

Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) Enterprise Corporation, a state-owned firm that invests in tourism, electrical appliances and real estate, is planning to raise as much as US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion) through an initial public offering in Hong Kong, market sources said.

China: Stanley Ho's multibillion-dollar gaming flagship Sociedad de Tourism e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) is allegedly at the centre of a money-laundering scheme moving billions of US dollars out of China through Macau into Hong Kong, according to a story in today's edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review.

Beijing has confirmed that electricity prices across most of the mainland will be increased - by an average 2.2 fen per kilowatt hour - in a bid to ease power shortages.

Strict controls will continue to be imposed on credit despite the initial victory in curbing excessive investment growth, the State Council said yesterday.

Beijing's special envoy to the Middle East yesterday welcomed last week's backing from the Group of Eight for American plans to promote economic and democratic reform in the region and resolve the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.

China is set to award financial derivatives trading licences to four foreign banks, including Citigroup, further opening its markets to foreign expertise and capital, according to banking sources.

China Mobile is unaware of any government-backed plan to force the merger of the mainland's four telecommunications carriers into two groups and has not been asked to take part in any talks on such a proposal, the company said.

Two egrets stand by the Bosten Lake in China's Xinjiang June 13. The Lake is a paradise for water birds including egret, hern, red-billed gull and widgeon.

Tsingtao Brewery said it has agreed to buy a 50 per cent stake in Gansu Nongken Beer Co, but analysts believe the deal will not trigger more acquisitions in the mainland brewery market.

Hong Kong: A presentation at the Drug InfoCentre, which is due to open this month in the Queensway Government Offices, Admiralty. A donation of $50.58 million from the Jockey Club Charities Trust has helped fund the centre, which will become the focal point for anti-drug education. The 900 sq metre two-storey exhibition hall will open next Tuesday.

In June 1984, Deng Xiaoping put forward the concept of "one country, two systems" to a visiting Hong Kong delegation. Twenty years later, a mainland actor who made his career by playing the late leader said it was still the best political formula for Hong Kong.

Candidates counting on the youth vote in the Legislative Council elections are likely to be disappointed after results of a study showed young people were not politically active.

A Chinachem representative makes the final bid of $1.01 billion for the Sa Po Road site at yesterday's land auction.

Cash circulating in the economy surges by up to $23 billion at every Lunar New Year to help fill the traditional Lai See gift envelopes distributed during the annual festival, a study by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority reveals. Risks to Hong Kong's monetary and financial stability have receded due to the city's economic rebound, reflecting strong global growth and low interest rates, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in a report.

The latest batch of Hong Kong initial purchase offerings (IPOs) has received an overwhelming response from investors, with instant messaging provider Tencent Holdings' retail tranche being 158 times subscribed and China Shipping Container Lines' offer 53.2 times subscribed.

Leighton Asia (Northern), the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Australia's largest construction contractor, says it has been awarded a HK$2 billion contract to design and build Steve Wynn's hotel and casino complex in Macau, confirming a report in The Standard yesterday.

China: Shanghai police officers try to deal with owners of a restaurant who threatened to jump from a building to protest against the demolition of their property.

Two former managers of the outspoken Southern Metropolis News had their jail terms for embezzlement and bribery reduced on appeal yesterday.

Beijing signed several agreements with Uzbekistan yesterday as the central government seeks to assert its influence over the strategically important region of Central Asia.

Valuair intends to become the first budget airline to enter the mainland market and will double its fleet before the end of the year, according to a founding shareholder in Singapore's first low-cost carrier.

Internet search giant Google has taken a small stake in Baidu.com, the mainland's largest search-engine company, in an investment which could lead to greater co-operation.

Tai Lihua, a deaf and dumb dancer of Chinese Art Ensemble of the Handicapped, performs in San Jose, June 14.

China is seeking for measures more practical and effective in the anti-corruption campaign. A "Special Action" - "One, two, three project"- is under consideration.

This is the new business model adopted by Hangzhou city officials in their quest to turn a failed mall into a thriving centre for trade in goods under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, the free trade pact between Beijing and Hong Kong.

China may leap ahead of Hong Kong in the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, by using the speck-like chip to boost efficiency in supply chain management, a business consultant says.

Hong Kong: Katie and her handler lead her mule co-workers up the trail. is one of six mules from Canada to become the official "pack transporters" for the construction of the Tung Chung cable car system.

Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen yesterday said he was willing to bet the jobless rate would fall below 7 per cent this year.

Embattled Harbor Fest organizer James Thompson says he is holding nothing back from the ICAC investigation into the event.

Stress levels elsewhere in Asia have declined in the past three years, but not in Hong Kong. Political uncertainty and worries about children's education may be to blame, according to an Asian health survey released yesterday in Singapore.

Shenzhen Mayor Li Hongzhong is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow on his first official visit to the city, during which he is expected to sign several agreements, including one on developing the border area.

Financial Secretary Henry Tang says the individual travel scheme is responsible for bringing more than two million mainlanders to Hong Kong since its launch last year.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief executive Paul Chow Man-yiu toasts the launch of H-share index options yesterday with exchange division head Gerald Greiner (left) and chief operating officer Patrick Conroy. Mr Conroy said HKEx was working with the Shanghai Futures Exchanges to develop crude-oil futures. He said mainland firms and investors would have a huge need for oil futures contracts in light of the recent volatility in oil prices.

Hong Kong stocks took their biggest tumble in four weeks yesterday as a range of factors, including a potential mainland interest-rate rise, were taken as reasons to sell.

Scientist Mark Tilden of WowWee, pictured in the Hong Kong company's design and sales office in Tsim Sha Tsui, says Robosapien is for robot hobbyists and "kids from six to 55". The robot is expected to fill the gap left by the departure of the more expensive Sony Aibo, which was withdrawn from sales in Hong Kong.

Local corporate deployment of Linux has spread its wings, with the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association moving its core information technology system to an open-source computing environment.

China: Macau's Commissioner Against Corruption (CAC) yesterday handed to prosecutors the results of a 2-1/2-year investigation into suspected corruption involving two senior public works officials.

Statistics released yesterday seem to indicate the mainland economy is still growing at a brisk pace, putting additional pressure on officials to increase interest rates.

Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), the world's biggest ocean-going car carrier by volume, is in talks with Guangzhou municipal and maritime authorities to build a joint-venture car terminal at the port of Nansha.

HKR International is planning to bring a Beverly Hills-style development to Discovery Bay - with prices to match. HKR is hoping the $1 billion project will lure Hong Kong's rich and famous, who will be able to design their dream home complete with must-have accessories such as a garden and swimming pool.

The mainland is expected to unify its two-tiered corporate income tax regime for domestic and foreign-invested firms at a single rate of between 25 and 30 per cent, according to sources.

High oil prices and China's strong demand for energy may speed up the introduction of oil futures to the Shanghai Futures Exchange, according to CNOOC chairman and chief executive officer Fu Chengyu.

Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Japan's largest shipping line, is hoping to reach agreement with port officials in Guangzhou within the next six months to develop a car import-export terminal at Nansha.

Hong Kong: Strengthening communication through "face-to-face talks" is more conducive to Hong Kong's harmony and stability, the Central Government Liaison Office said yesterday in response to the democrats' offer to mend fences with Beijing.

After being caught off guard by the size of last year's July 1 march, officials have been quietly gauging the views of community leaders to try to better estimate how many people will join this year's rally.

The delegation of Hong Kong and Macau business people and officials returned home yesterday after a week-long tour of Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin, where they visited many companies and met dozens of officials.

The telecommunications watchdog is considering tougher penalties on providers of illegal international direct dialling (IDD) services that circumvent local access charges - a fee that generates about $500 million a year for fixed-line operators.

As Hong Kong's financial sector becomes increasingly sophisticated, the lines between its different segments are blurring, pitting them against each other for consumer dollars in a dizzying array of products.

China: Yu Xinguo, deputy head of the Shenzhen police, says only 87 of the 41,207 cases reported in Shenzhen in the first five months of this year involved Hong Kong residents.

In a major revision of China's tax code, authorities have reached a preliminary consensus on unifying the tax systems for domestic and foreign-invested enterprises so that companies in both sectors should pay a rate between 25per cent and 30 per cent.

China's insolvent state-owned banks are steadily cleaning up their act, but interference by central authorities all too often hinders real, lasting and necessary reforms, says Steven Xu, a former senior economist at Hong Kong-listed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia).

Premier Wen Jiabao talks to workers at a steel plant in Hubei, Wuhan. He says developing the region is a core priority. Central and western provinces have been assured that the national government is still committed to developing the regions, while it pursues measures to cool the pace of economic activity.

The bodies of 11 mainlanders shot dead in northeastern Afghanistan will be repatriated today on a mainland military aircraft.

Work-related accidents dropped 13 per cent in the first four months of the year compared to the same period laast year and the mainland's notorious coal mines are becoming safer despite a series of high-profile disasters, authorities said.

Ping An chairman Peter Ma details plans of the company's initial public offering, as Goldman Sachs' Mark Machin looks on. Ping An Insurance (Group) stands to benefit from expected interest-rate rises, officials said yesterday on the eve of launching the retail tranche of its $16.48 billion global initial public offering.

Dutch oil refiner Petroplus plans to sell its 110,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Wales for possible relocation to China.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L, Front) shakes hands with Romanian President Ion Iliescu after signing a joint statement pledging to build friendly and cooperative partnership between their countries in Bucharest, Romania, June 13.

The overall situation of the Chinese economy is fine at present as the government's macro economic control efforts have taken effect, said Wen.

Hong Kong: Agricultural and Fisheries Conservation Department officers net the Yuen Long crocodile on Thursday morning, which has embarrassed expert hunters by evading their ambushes. The reptile was caught in a trap specially designed by the department.

Hong Kong's new investment migration scheme has attracted $796 million and 339 applications since it was launched last October, local media reported on Thursday.

China: The Communist Party is expected to tackle political reforms at the fourth plenum of the 16th Party Congress this autumn. The aim is to consolidate and give momentum to piecemeal changes already made, according to the mainland-backed Wen Wei Po newspaper and political analysts.

Advanced Micro Devices said on Wednesday that China's biggest personal computer maker, Lenovo Group, would use its chips in a new line of desktop personal computers.

Beijing 2004 Int'l Auto Exhibition opens in Beijin June 10. Over 600 auto companies scattered in 20 countries attend the get-together displaying their productions.

Hong Kong: Champion jockey Douglas Whyte claimed another piece of Hong Kong racing history at Happy Valley last night by becoming the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a single season.

The government may postpone its planned $20 billion bond issue if the US Federal Reserve increases interest rates this month, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Frederick Ma Si-hang said yesterday.

The stock exchange's listing committee has refused to grant a waiver for Hutchison Whampoa's plan to spin off most of its non-third generation (3G) global telecommunications assets in two phases, dealing a blow to the conglomerate's fundraising hopes.

A multi-billion dollar international drug and money laundering syndicate, allegedly financed out of Hong Kong and Malaysia and uncovered after a five-nation investigation, was smashed yesterday with the arrest of 14 suspects and seizure of enough chemicals in an illegal laboratory to make HK$4.21 billion worth of ``ice'' or crystal methamphetamine.

Standard Chartered Bank is aggressively ramping up its non-fee-paying services in the mainland to cater for its most important China-based customers - investors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

Tens of thousands of rural credit co-operatives in Guangdong are expected to soon begin the process of merging into banks as part of Beijing's bid to reform the country's financial institutions.

China: More than a million jubilant people lined the streets of Beijing yesterday in the heat to cheer on the torch-bearers who carried the Athens Olympic flame along a 55km route through the city.

President Hu Jintao and his Polish counterpart, Aleksander Kwasniewski, pledged to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two nations, while the Polish leader said a "constructive dialogue" would be held on differences over human rights.

As Beijing's week-long AutoChina motor show began yesterday, manufacturers reaffirmed their confidence in the mainland car market, forecasting strong sales and brushing off concerns that supply will soon outpace demand. Mazda's MX-5, pictured, is just one of the models on show this week fighting for a slice of the action.

China's richest men and women are gaining more legal rights, financing opportunities and stature but they still have a long way to go towards improving their image in society, says the author of a well-known wealth ranking.

Hong Kong: All eyes, and cameras, were focused on the immaculately styled Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who was on hand to launch this year's Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (Filmart). "My role is to help introduce Hong Kong to the overseas market," he said. "We are getting more recognition and I hope I can help this to continue."

A Venus craze hit Hong Kong yesterday as hundreds queued for hours outside the Space Museum to join millions of people around the world witnessing an astronomical event last seen 122 years ago.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has asked banks to identify "high-risk" customers, including politicians and heads of state, in an effort to stop money-laundering activities in the city.

Hong Kong-listed mainland car stocks took a battering yesterday as investors reacted negatively to reports that mainland car owners had defaulted on billions of yuan worth of loans last year.

Cathay Pacific Airways is unlikely to buy Boeing's new 7E7 Dreamliner passenger jet, but it is interested in the Airbus A380 super-jumbo, a senior executive says. This comes as it seeks further cost cuts to offset the high price of fuel. Airlines, including Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines (Dragonair) and mainland carriers, will introduce all-electronic ticketing by 2007 in an effort to save US$3 billion (HK$23.4 billion) a year.

China: Yu Zaiqing, China's member of the International Olympic Committee, carries the Olympic torch through Beijing's Tiananmen Square to begin the Beijing leg of the Olympic torch relay on Wednesday. The torch will be carried by 148 runners on a 55-kilometre journey from Tiananmen Square to the Summer Palace. China is the fifth stop in the torch's 78,000-kilometre journey across six continents, 27 countries and 33 cities.

A plane comes in to land, much to a young boy's delight, at Guangzhou's old Baiyun International Airport. Silence will fall over the area from June 28, when the airport will close and the new Baiyun International Airport, at Huadu, is scheduled to open.

Industrial dumping and aggressive land reclamation in the waters west of the Pearl River Delta would drastically alter the region's coastline and hinder the area's future development, according to an official study.

A power company run by a son of former premier Li Peng is among the top five firms on a list of the worst air polluters in Beijing.

President Hu Jintao arrived in Warsaw yesterday for a two-day visit - part of his four-nation tour that analysts said was part of Beijing's continuing push to forge closer ties with Europe. China and Poland signed a joint declaration on Tuesday pledging to work for a "friendly and cooperative partnership" between the two countries.

Red chip China Merchants Holdings (International) will spin off its toll-road and tanker operations, valued at an estimated $3.84 billion, by the end of the year to focus on its core port businesses.

The chairman of the mainland's biggest manufacturer of machine tools says that his firm will become the world's fifth-biggest in five years and its largest by 2014 - and he did not expect any help from Hong Kong capital.

China's economic development would not only change the social structure of the country, but also pump vigor into the world economy, said Michael Dell.

Hong Kong: The head of the KCRC has warned against any cheap sale of the corporation's assets during a merger of the city's two railway operators.

Retail sales in Hong Kong grew 19.9 per cent in April, the fastest year-on-year pace in more than four years. But shopkeepers weren't popping too many champagne corks - no one was in the mood to buy a year ago at the height of the Sars outbreak.

Hong Kong customs officers seized 7.5 million smuggled cigarettes, the largest haul of the year, during an examination of cargo at the Kwai Chung container terminal.

Baptist University will start a joint-venture campus in Zhuhai next year, targeting Hong Kong and mainland students.

The government stands to make an on-paper profit of $3.3 billion after it bought 4,304 unsold subsidized flats to house disciplined services members now living in quarters.

The cut-throat mortgage war has moved into the secondary market, with Citic Ka Wah Bank yesterday saying it hoped to lure homebuyers with a fixed interest rate of 0.88 per cent for a six-month period - the lowest in Hong Kong.

PCCW may end its reselling arrangement with former mobile services arm CSL in favour of Hutchison Telecom or another provider, according to industry observers.

Ping An Insurance, the mainland's second-biggest life insurer, is poised to bring the largest initial public offering to Hong Kong this year, offering 1.38 billion shares to raise up to HK$16.49 billion.

The potential move to the main board by four of the biggest companies on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) by market capitalization will slash the value of Hong Kong's secondary board by 35 per cent although the territory's capital-raising status should remain intact.

China: The Fisherman's Wharf venture, which is due to open next year, is one of many aiming to tap into Macau's roaring tourism sector.

The firm building the massive Three Gorges Dam does not have power over local government officials in charge of funds for relocating more than a million people displaced by the project, its former president says.

General Motors, the world's largest carmaker, has raised the stakes in the increasingly competitive mainland market by announcing that more than US$3 billion will be invested in ventures with its mainland partners over the next three years.

Nearly 100 billion yuan (HK$94.23 billion) in outstanding car loans went sour in China by the end of last year, spurring banking regulators to launch a nationwide check on defaulting buyers and apparently playing a role slowing car sales.

China Eagle Group chairman Wong Kwong-yu has proposed omitting his home appliance group's outlets in major cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong from an 8.8 billion yuan (HK$8.29 billion) asset injection deal into the company.

Some Shenzhen-based retail chains are now thinking about ending their relationship with the beleaguered debit card issuer China UnionPay and instead negotiating with individual banks for lower service charges on credit and debit cards.

Hong Kong: The mainland will look first to Hong Kong and Macau when seeking foreign capital, talent and technological know-how, Vice-President Zeng Qinghong told a group of tycoons yesterday.

Standard Chartered Bank is in advanced talks to buy a strategic stake of at least 15 per cent in China Everbright Bank, one of the mainland's smaller commercial banks, sources said.

Mainland instant messaging company Tencent Holdings hopes to raise up to $1.55 billion from its public offering in Hong Kong. Listing candidate Tencent Holdings says it will retain its leadership in the mainland's instant messaging service sector, but margins will continue to fall as development and marketing expenses rise.

The parent company of Hong Kong's smallest mobile carrier has made a great leap to Madagascar, displacing a French provider to become the African island nation's principal foreign telecommunications investor.

China: Twenty-one people are feared dead after a massive landslide engulfed a village in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing at the weekend.

Taipei has temporarily refused entry to two reporters from the People's Daily in what is seen as the start of a visa war across the Taiwan Strait.

The mainland's leading home appliance chain will achieve a Hong Kong listing through a related-party transaction with its chairman's main-board vehicle in a deal worth 8.8 billion yuan.

The legal battles between Microsoft and governments in Europe and the US make the company look like a partner in a bad marriage. But in Southeast Asia, Microsoft seems more like an ardent suitor, wooing governments with sweet promises and gifts.

Telecommunications companies from Japan are setting aggressive sales targets on the mainland, buoyed by strengthening direct investment trends among Japanese multinationals.

After two months of sleuthing, a group of Chinese archaeologists have found what they believe to be a large group of tombs of China's Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) in Qishan, China's Shaanxi.

The latest results of Global Investment Prospect Assessment (GIPA) shows China is still deemed the most attractive investment destination in the world.

A leading scientist for China's first moon exploration mission said Sunday that the country has no manned landing project by the year of 2017.

Hong Kong: Standard Chartered's head of consumer banking, Tan Kong Khoon, toasts yesterday's launch of its first capital-guaranteed structured notes for retail investors - available from today - as the bank rides the momentum created by the strong public response to the government's $6 billion securitization bonds last month.

Hong Kong stocks recorded their biggest fall in almost three weeks yesterday as oil prices again exceeded US$40 per barrel, prompting a new round of selling by institutional players.

Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Shun Tak Holdings plans a $1 billion expansion binge in Macau, betting that the economic resurgence in the former Portuguese colony is more than just a run of good luck.

Scott Cheung Sze-lok and Jennifer Tin Lai-ki of the Hong Kong Camy Academy of Dancing show off their skills at a preview of this summer's International Arts Carnival. The carnival, which runs from July 14 to August 29, will feature nearly 500 events, from acrobatics, puppetry, music, dance and other stage performances, to workshops, exhibitions, and school and cultural tours.

The pan-Pearl River Delta agreement is expected to speed integration of the economies of Hong Kong, Macau and nine southern provinces - but to imagine it will deliver big benefits any time soon could be wishful thinking.

Guangdong plans to take the leading role in pan-Pearl River Delta regional development, provincial Governor Huang Huahua says.

Hong Kong's two railway operators were accused by lawmakers yesterday of wasting resources by submitting rival proposals for a link to Whampoa Gardens while they are discussing a merger.

Putonghua television content provider Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings is planning to switch its Hong Kong listing to the main board. Vice-president Liu Shuang said Phoenix is also considering a share placement.

MTR Corporation (MTRC) will not land lucrative property projects in Beijing as part of its 2.4 billion yuan (HK$2.26 billion) investment in a joint venture to develop the city's Metro Line 4 rail system.

China: The central government's harsh administrative measures to cool down the mainland economy have met with increasing resentment and passive resistance from local authorities, testing the political skills and willpower of the new leadership.

President Hu Wednesday called on the country's millions of scientific workers to contribute more to the country's scientific and research undertakings and to strive for accelerated modernization.

SABMiller will sell its 29 per cent stake in Harbin Brewery Group to rival Anheuser-Busch for $1.64 billion, ending the first takeover battle for a listed mainland company.

Beijing's choice as Panchen Lama, Gyaincain Norbu, holds a Buddhist ceremony at the Yonghegong Lamasery in Beijing. He received homage from 30 Living Buddhas and met a delegation from Mongolia. Most Tibetan Buddhists recognize another Panchen Lama - Gedhum Choekyi Nyima - who has not been seen since 1995 after being chosen by the Dalai Lama.

China has made significant gains in reforming its economy and legal system, according to a study by the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Secretariat.

A call centre used by the United States to take applications for visas reopens today after a six-week diplomatic standoff.

Beijing has acted about a dozen times during the past year to thwart shipments of nuclear-related materials to problem states. But some US officials remain concerned that mainland firms continue to sell items with potential nuclear uses to North Korea and Iran.

Hong Kong: A leading board member of Hong Kong's Community Chest, Lawrence Yu Kam-kee, is among seven key investors to have reaped $131 million from a quick flick of Harbin Brewery Group shares to Anheuser-Busch, prompting a major takeover battle with SABMiller.

A Kenyan landmark was yesterday turned into a promotional stage for the Miss Hong Kong pageant. The contestants posed in bikinis beside the foaming waters of the 72-metre Thomson's Falls as part of a publicity filming mission ahead of the August competition.

The government faces a $280 million compensation claim from the contractors involved in the Central Reclamation because of the delay caused by a dispute over the legality and size of the project.

Senior mainland officials and academics yesterday called on Hong Kong, Macau and the southern provinces to step up co-ordination and remove barriers to the free flow of capital and goods.

A former ING Investment Management director is among four executives facing bribery and fraud charges, as graft-busters widen a probe into an alleged $6 million stock scam involving sales of shares in three listed firms.

Hong Kong mobile phone ownership was the highest in Asia, with 86 per cent of the population owning one or more mobile phones, according to a study by technology research company TNS of 11 Asian telecommunications markets, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

China: Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho (right) accompanies Zhang Dejiang, Guangdong Communist Party chief, to yesterday's Pan-Pearl River Delta forum in Macau. The opening of the first Pan-Pearl River Delta forum has dominated headlines in Guangdong and Hong Kong, but people living in far-flung western provinces and eastern Fujian are barely aware of the event.

After weeks of deliberation, the mainland looks set to announce tougher measures to cool the overheating economy - including raising interest rates and electricity prices, according to informed sources.

Lenovo Group chairman Liu Chuanzi appears less than pleased at the company's annual results announcement yesterday at the Conrad Hotel. The mainland PC maker posted a disappointing 3.44 per cent increase in profit last year. Analysts had estimated a 7.55 per cent rise. Lenovo officials said the firm must first defend its domestic market share against foreign rivals before expanding overseas.

American companies, including Boeing and Motorola, have lost more than US$30 billion since July 2002 because of government delays in granting visas to business travelers from other countries, a study sponsored by eight trade associations has found.

Hong Kong: A "two schools, one system" formula has been proposed by the dean of the University of Hong Kong's medical school to turn the city into a regional biomedical hub.

The relic, held in a bulletproof glass box, was flown in Tuesday afternoon -- just in time for the Buddha's birthday celebrations here Wednesday. It will be shown for 10 days in this largely Buddhist territory.

China: Brazilian President Lula is leading a grand delegation on a visit to China, which comprises seven ministers, four governors and more than 400 entrepreneurs.

China will try to help a small portion of population who still live in poverty have access to adequate food and clothing at an early date in the next decade, said Chinese Premier Wen.

Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest beermaker, has offered a sweetener to the government and citizens of Harbin by setting up a US$8 million (HK$62.4 million) trust fund as investors await its counter-offer in the bidding war against SABMiller for control of Harbin Brewery Group.

China, which began making Aids medicine less than two years ago, has become a major exporter of cheap raw material for Aids drugs and is gearing up to export finished drugs to Third World countries. The move could see the country driving down the worldwide price for the medicine. But international experts caution that quality must be assured. In response to a mushrooming HIV/Aids epidemic that has seen many poor farmers affected, the Chinese government in December 2002 gave approval to several domestic pharmaceutical firms to make generic versions of Western drugs whose patents had run out, to try to lower the cost of treatment. So far, four Chinese companies are producing the anti-Aids medicine.

China's red- hot economy could cause serious overheating among its citizens. Facing a summer of electricity shortages, Shanghai has warned offices they could be forced to cut power use by 20 per cent with just five minutes warning, according to notices sent to companies yesterday. New city regulations require the sudden cuts to keep the grid from crashing, especially between the peak demand hours of 9 to 11am, 1 to 3 pm and 7 to 9pm, the notices said. Shanghai will face a shortage of 2.2 million kilowatts between June and September, the notices said.

Hong Kong: In the first land auction for 20 months yesterday, Hong Kong developers snapped up two public sites in an aggressive bidding war that added $2.95 billion to the government's coffers.

The business schools of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Hong Kong may unite.

Shenzhen firms aim to recruit 3,000 professionals and skilled workers at a jobs fair in Hong Kong in August.

Were this not Hong Kong, holding a land auction in the city's premier cultural centre might seem incongruous. The ritual of the public sale offers both spectacle and an indefatigable signal to the rest of the population.

HSBC Holdings said yesterday it would focus on organic rather than acquisition-led global expansion, despite making a raft of purchases in China and the United States in recent years.

Sunday Communications, the Hong Kong mobile operator financially backed by Shenzhen-based IT giant Huawei, has predicted consolidation will reduce the current six players in the SAR's mobile market to three.

An improvement in inbound tourism has helped luxury hotel chain Shangri-La Asia's yield for its Hong Kong properties, which was up 30 per cent year-on-year in the first four months of the year, compared with the group's 41 per cent yield rise.

China: More than 1,000 Buddhists of Hong Kong and the mainland worship the sarira of Buddha at Famen Temple, some 110 km west to Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shannxi Province, on Monday. The sarira is believed to be a bone section of the Buddha's finger.

The sarira of Buddha, which is believed to be a bone section of the Buddha's finger, at Famen Temple in northwest China's Shannxi Province. National treasures including the Buddhist sarira and 20 cultural relics from Xi'an will arrive in Hong Kong on May 25 and will be displayed publicly at the Conventional and Exhibition Centre from May 26 to June 4.

A scavenger carries a sack of garbage to sell while listening a music with a headphone in Shanghai. Despite drastic efforts to cool off China's rapidly surging economy, the commerce ministry said that it is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than 9 per cent in the first half of the year, a rate well in excess of the official target.

Guangdong Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang is expected to set the tone for regional co-operation at a forum in Hong Kong next month.

The percentage of mainland residents who smoke fell between 1996 and 2002, but a corresponding rise in the population means that more people are smoking than ever.

Hong Kong pay-television operator i-Cable Communications has been given approval to broadcast a 24-hour information and entertainment channel on Shenzhen's cable network from Friday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) greets Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on the square outside the east gate of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 24, 2004.

Ping An Insurance, which is seeking to raise US$1.5 billion (HK$11.7 billion) in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, is set to make its share trading debut on June 25, according to an investment banking source.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong is still the region's shopping paradise, a credit-card firm's survey shows. And despite intense competition from neighbours, its supremacy will not be seriously challenged for years to come.

Several proposals emerged in yesterday's first official seminar on constitutional reform, where it was suggested the public could directly take part in the next chief executive election, but it would be just short of full universal suffrage.

Japanese tour agents take time out for a tai chi class at the Cultural Centre piazza. Led