FTA talks

China and Iceland held the third round of a free trade agreement in Beijing yesterday and Wednesday. The Chinese delegation, comprising representatives of six ministries, exchanged views on the trade pact. They also talked on topics including goods and services trade and investment. The fourth round will be held in Reykjavik.

Praise for NZ

The Ministry of Commerce said it appreciated the New Zealand government's response to reports of formaldehyde found in clothes imported from China. It also said in a statement that China has always paid and will continue to pay close attention to product quality and food safety. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs of New Zealand said on Wednesday that in tests conducted on 99 items of Chinese clothing, 97 did not contain or contained formaldehyde lower than the country's standard and that the formaldehyde content in the other two items could be easily cleaned. It said clothes imported from China do not have any health problems.

Futures guideline

The China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) issued a guideline yesterday setting the basic requirements of members' in-house intranet systems for trading in the proposed index futures contracts. The guideline is designed to help members prepare for the launch of the instrument, which is widely expected by the end of this year.

Eco initiative

PerkinElmer Inc, a global technology leader in health sciences, yesterday unveiled EcoAnalytix in China, an initiative that addresses the global imperatives of food safety, water quality and biofuels development.

The company's EcoAnalytix measure system is designed to help laboratories meet the goals of contaminant-free food and water supplies, and high-qualified biofuels.

New plant

Lenze Drive Systems Co Ltd launched its first manufacturing plant in China yesterday.

With a total investment of 11 million euros, the project is located in Lingang, southeast of Shanghai. Lenze plans to expand the 12,000-sq-m plant to 25,000sqm in three years' time, providing products for the Chinese and Asian markets.

Mall project

Singapore-based real estate developer Frasers Property is preparing for its first big commercial property project in Beijing - the Crosspoints Lifestyle Mall, with a business area of 200,000sqm.

With assets of 48.36 billion yuan and property development branches in 20 nations and regions, Frasers is cashing in on the spending power of China's growing middle class and the opportunity of the Beijing Olympic Games.

RBC office

The largest Canadian financial company, RBC Financial Group (RBC), yesterday announced the opening of its Beijing representative office for investment services. RBC's investment service business has 2,100 professionals around the world and its business in China will focus on wealth management, according to Michael Lagopoulos, chief executive of RBC Investment Services Ltd.

The company said it has submitted an application to China's security regulator for a planned joint venture fund firm with China Minsheng Banking Corp.

Wealth management

Bank of Beijing yesterday opened its flagship wealth management center in Beijing. The wealth management center will target clients with over 1 million yuan to deposit. It's the second wealth management center after the bank opened its first in the Zhongguancun area of Beijing in April.

Agencies-China Daily

(China Daily 10/19/2007 page14)