IN BRIEF (Page 9)

Travel numbers to increase

One million tourists from the Chinese mainland will travel overseas on cruise ships in 2011, a rise of 26.58 percent on last year, according to forecasts from the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) on Friday.

"The cruise-ship business in China has already entered a stage of rapid development," said Zheng Weihang, secretary general of the CCYIA.

The sixth China Cruise Shipping Exposition will be held between Oct 15 and 17 in Tianjin, which will be the first time the northern port city has hosted the event.

Metso to shift Chinese focus

Metso Corp, the Finnish supplier of services in the pulp and paper industries, will shift its focus in China from production to services in the next 10 years.

That's according to the newly appointed President of Metso Paper and Fiber Technology Jari Koikkalainen on the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Wuxi Service Center held on Thursday.

As the company's largest service center in China, Metso's Wuxi facility has seen its head count grow from 60 in 2001 to the current number of 150 and its roll-service capacity doubled after an extension in 2007.

Trinity to add stores in China

Trinity Ltd will add 50 stores in China in the second half as the luxury menswear retailer taps rising consumer spending.

"While the rich will keep buying, what's more important is that a growing number of China's middle class will shop with us, expanding the customer base," Trinity's Managing Director Sunny Wong said in an interview on Friday in Hong Kong. A larger Chinese network will help Trinity compensate for faltering demand in the United States and Europe while the company raises prices in China to offset increasing labor and materials costs.

China Daily - Bloomberg News

(China Daily 08/27/2011 page9)