The 2002 Monternet-Sohu Mobile Fashion Representative Contest concluded on Saturday in Beijing and six young men, who are to be called (SO6), were selected to represent the Chinese Internet business Sohu.com to help the company expand its image as an IT industry leader.

The company said it would help SO6 break into the entertainment business with support from Sony Music and release a record on mobile communications fashion next February.

HAIKOU

Train ferryboat sets sail

"Yuehai Tie No 1," China's first train ferry, arrived in the Qiongzhou Straits on Sunday, where it will operate as a link between railways in Guangdong and Hainan provinces.

The ferry, which was built at a cost of 210 million yuan (US$25 million), was funded by the Yuehai Railway Co Ltd, designed by the No 708 Ship-building Industry Institute of China, and built by the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai.

DALIAN

Luminescent materials zone evolves

A luminescent materials industrial base is taking shape in Northeast China following the completion of the Dalian Luming Scientific and Technological Tower on Sunday in this coastal city in Liaoning Province.

The park will ultimately evolve into an international research and development and marketing centre for luminescent and nanotech materials.

WUHAN

Western expressway constructed

Construction of the 234-kilometre Xiaogan-Xiangfan expressway began on Sunday in Central China's Hubei Province.

The scheme, which is listed in the State plan as a key project, involves a total investment of 7.4 billion yuan (US$890 million), including US$250 million in loans provided by the World Bank.

It is part of the expressway to be built between Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in the northwest of the country and Wuhan, capital of Hubei.

GUANGZHOU

Garment industry booms

Humen, a small town in South China's Guangdong Province, is catching the world's eye with its booming garment industry.

The town has become crowded with more than 1,000 garment enterprises, over 600 of which are privately owned and more than 300 foreign funded.

More than 400,000 of the town's 700,000 plus population, are engaged in garment manufacturing. The town's clothing sales stand at around 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) annually.

BEIJING

Companies vie

China's 10 fund management companies yesterday began their oral defence to compete for the licence to manage China's security fund. Experts forecast joint venture fund management companies will probably have the chance to bid next year.

According to related stipulations, selected fund management companies will be eliminated if they are found incapable of meeting the requirements of the Security Fund Council. As a result, the newly emerged joint venture fund management companies will have the opportunity to join in the next competition.

Bank hopes for QFII

Asian Area Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Credit Suisse First Boston recently said the bank will strive to be one of the first batch of Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII).

According to the CEO, Credit Suisse First Boston is full of confidence in China's economic growth. The sustained development of Chinese enterprises needs an enormous amount of capital from both home and abroad to face the fierce competition in the future.

Petrochemical deals

China sealed more than US$800 million worth of contracts with several Japanese companies yesterday to help build the country's largest petrochemical plant in South China's Guangdong Province.

A joint venture between China's State-owned oil giant CNOOC and Royal Dutch/Shell has awarded the main construction deals for the US$4.3 billion chemical plant to JGC Corp, Chiyoda Corp and Yokogawa Electric Corp, officials of the venture said.

SHANGHAI

Meeting held

The Shanghai-listed Shanghai China International Travel Service Co Ltd said it held a board of directors meeting on Thursday and approved to invest 56 million yuan (US$6.8 million) in Shanghai Jinjiang Inn Investment and Management Co Ltd.

The agreement was signed on Friday. With the investment, the company holds a 25 per cent stake in Jinjiang Inn Investment and Management Co Ltd.

Stakes to be sold

China's stationery maker Hero (Group) Co Ltd said yesterday its largest shareholder, Shanghai Light Industry Holding Co, will sell their 14.98 per cent stake in the B-share firm to Huaxin Investment Co.

Hero said in a statement that State-owned Shanghai Light Industry Holdings had reduced its stake to 8.74 per cent, making Huaxin the stationery firm's second largest shareholder.

Shanghai Light Industry Holdings originally held a 23.72 per cent of Hero, which has both yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares listed on the Shanghai stock exchange.

HONG KONG

Deal struck

Chinese white goods maker Guangdong Kelon confirmed yesterday it had struck a deal on an outstanding debt owed by its former shareholder Guangdong Kelon (Rongsheng) Group Co Ltd (GKG).

Under the deal, GKG will transfer trademarks and rights on land use to Guangdong Kelon to settle a debt of 907.8 million yuan (US$109.7 million), of which 50.4 million yuan (US$6.1 million) of it is in interest, it said.