IN BRIEF (Page 10)

ABB wins power deal

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a $70 million order for power equipment from the State Grid Corporation of China for a new power link in northeastern China.

The new HVDC (high-voltage, direct current) link will transmit 3,000 MW (megawatts) of power over 920 kilometers from Hulunbeir, in Inner Mongolia, to Shenyang of Liaoning province. The ABB order is part of a project with an estimated total value of $400 million.

"We are very pleased that State Grid Corporation has selected ABB for this portion of an important project to support the further development of Liaoning's industrial base," said Peter Leupp, head of ABB's Power Systems division.

ABB will provide key components for the converter stations at each end of the link, and the company will help measure equipment for the converter stations. The link is scheduled for commercial operation by the end of 2009.

Steel giants in Chongqing

Chongqing's New North Zone (CNNZ), an industrial base in Chongqing municipality, says it has attracted three Chinese steel giants to establish plants there: Baosteel, Wuhan Iron & Steel, and Panzhihua Iron & Steel.

Baosteel has reportedly invested 700 million yuan in building an auto steel structure processing base on 13.33 hectares of land. The base will have an annual steel capacity of 300,000 tons.

Wuhan Iron and Steel process and distribution center in Chongqing is under construction on 4.67 hectares of land with an investment of 100 million yuan.

Panzhihua Iron and steel, one of the largest steelmakers in western China, has built a factory in Chongqing, focusing on the manufacture and sales of high quality auto steel. The annual output value is expected to reach 1.2 billion yuan upon completion.

More software firms in Dalian

Ten of the top 100 Chinese software companies have recently set up research facilities or branches in Dalian, Liaoning province in northeast China. Their sales take up 30 percent of the city's total software revenues.

Some 40 of the world's top 500 have already established software and information service outlets in the city. The Dalian Software Industry Park is mainly composed of foreign companies, including IBM, NEC, HP, Oracle, Accenture, and BearingPoint.

During the past few years, Dalian has become the center for software research and development in China.

Guangdong province has signed agreements for 22 projects worth nearly $1.6 billion with Vietnamese companies.

Marco Polo Hotel in Wuhan

Marco Polo Hotels, one of the world's largest hotel chains, opened a new hotel in Wuhan, Hubei province on September 15.

The hotel is located in Hankou, the commercial center of Wuhan, and has 380 guestrooms, and provides amenities and services such as a fragrance program, iPod surround sound system, complimentary Internet access and Wifi.

"The launch of Marco Polo Wuhan is a timely response to the growing influx of travelers to Wuhan's trade and economic centre," Steve Kleinschmidt, president of Marco Polo Hotels, noted.

BoC private bank in Nanjing

Bank of China, the nation's second-largest lender, has set up a private banking department in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province in East China.

The new department is the first of its kind in Jiangsu province. It will offer a series of comprehensive banking services, including a financial service, tax service, insurance service and investment service, to individual clients who have no less than 8 million yuan.

Bank of China began promoting private banking services in March 2007.

Cities starring at Davos

The promotional slogan for the 2008 Tianjin Summer Davos Forum is "New Leading Cities and New Leaders", say Tianjin organizers.

The forum will include a seminar attended by about 180 mayors from both China and abroad discussing how to build a sustainable city. It's the first time a city-oriented seminar will be held at a Davos forum, according to He Ronglin, deputy head of the Tianjin Davos organizing and coordinating committee.

The 2008 Summer Davos Forum will be held on Sepember 27-28, in the Binhai International Exhibition Center of Tianjin. More than 1,500 entrepreneurs, politicians and scholars from 70 countries and regions are expected to attend.

Seven-star hotel

China's first seven-star hotel will start construction in Haitang Bay in Sanya, Hainan province, later this year. When completed it will also be the world's second seven-star hotel, sources reported. The Burj Al Arab in Dubai is currently the world's only seven-star hotel.

Construction of the 120m high, 150 square kilometer luxury hotel, led by the Beijing-based real estate developer Antaeus Group, will be completed by 2011 with 2 billion yuan in investments. It will be managed under the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts brand.

Sanya's urban planning committee also noted that Sanya would host another seven-star hotel in the coming years.

(China Daily 09/22/2008 page10)