IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Free websites for SMEs

Baidu.com has initiated a nationwide campaign to construct websites and optimize web content for 500,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) free of charge in order to strengthen their connection with the marketplace during the global financial crisis.

Robin Lee, the CEO of Chinese search engine provider, says Baidu will invest over 100 million yuan to provide the free service and training for the SMEs. He says SMEs have become an important force for China's economic development, but quite a number of them do not have even simple websites even though some of their business have already expanded throughout the whole country or even overseas.

Nanjing U-Merieux AIDS work

France-based Merieux Group and the Public Health and Medical Center of Nanjing University have signed a cooperation agreement for establishing an HIV/AIDS Research and Innovation Foundation to carry out applied research projects.

Metrieux will invest 60,000 euros to begin with and the two sides will cooperate closely once the relevant projects are underway. The research will focus on the study and development of HIV/AIDS diagnosis.

Banking CSR report released

The China Banking Association has formally released its Chinese Banking Industry 2007 Social Responsibility Report, reportedly the first of its kind for the mainland's banking industry.

According to the report, which was compiled by 51 Chinese banks, by the end of 2007, the total assets of China's financial institutions had reached 52.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.7 percent compared to the previous year. The total debt of the industry was 4.96 billion yuan, up 18.8 percent. The report says that China's financial institutions had all made dramatic achievements in capital adequacy rates, asset quality and risk management while expanding their scale of operations.

It shows that in 2007, Chinese banks paid nearly 198 billion yuan in taxes, and their contribution to society lies not only in finance, but also the development of the national economy as well as charity and environmental protections.

Model cities study

The US industrial conglomerate United Technologies Corp (UTC), Chinese Academy of Sciences and 21st Century Business Herald newspaper have started a program to study sustainable development in Chinese cities.

The program, started this year and lasts for five years, will select some cities as model cities in sustainable development, which mainly includes energy conservation and environmental protection. UTC says the project will be its main deed in corporate social responsibility in the next few years.

(China Daily 12/29/2008 page8)