Biz Scene: Local

Biodiesel base

A biodiesel industry base was recently established in Tongchuan of Shaanxi Province, which will supply 100,000 tons of the clean fuel annually to western China after coming onstream. The Guanzhong region, where the base is located, plans to plant 7 million mu (466,000 hectares) more bunge prickly ash trees to secure the raw material for the diesel refinery.

Software revenue

The revenue of the software industry in Shanghai is likely to jump 30 percent to hit 80 billion yuan this year, thanks to strong exports and core software product development, Shanghai Municipal Information Commission said.

Shanghai's software industry revenue reached 38.5 billion yuan in the first half. In 2006, the local software industry earned 61.67 billion yuan in revenue, one-eighth of the national level. Exports were worth $990 million, one-sixth of the country level, according to the commission.

A total of 1,200 firms have software certification in Shanghai and more than 10 firms, including The9 Ltd and Baosight Inc, have got listed.

The profit margin of the software industry has improved in the last four years - 13.67 percent in 2006 compared with 2.63 percent in 2002, according to the commission.

(China Daily 10/11/2007 page15)