Biz Scene: Local

Agricultural park

Work on the nation's first Sino-Russian agricultural hi-tech park, with a total investment of 73.12 million yuan, began yesterday in Mudanjiang, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The park will act as a center of agricultural technology research and development, modern agriculture exhibition, education and training on agricultural knowledge, and sightseeing. It will play an important role in the cooperation between China and Russia, said Shen Liguo, vice-governor of Heilongjiang Province.

Finance hub

The financial services sector has become a pillar industry for Beijing's local economic development, said a senior official of the city.

As the nation's capital, Beijing has incomparable advantages over other cities to develop financial services industry, said Ren Huoxue, a senior finance official with the municipal government.

The city now has about 430 registered financial institutions, the highest in the country.

(China Daily 10/12/2007 page15)