• China Vanke, Property Stocks Fall on Plan to Cool Home Prices
(May 18, 2006) Bloomberg.com - China’s announcement that it will step up efforts to cool surging home prices has cooled down the stock of Chinese property developers.

• Chinese garden first step in themed development
(May 19, 2006) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - A delegation from Suzhou, China is expected to visit Gwinnett next week and donate $3 million in materials for a classical Chinese garden near Atlanta that is part of an ambitious plan to build a Chinatown from scratch.

• China can produce 400 million mobile phones a year
(May 19, 2006) People’s Daily Online - China says that it is capable of manufacturing 400 million mobile phones a year, accounting for 40 percent of the global total.

• China's trade union calls for minimum wage boost
(May 19, 2006) China View (Xinhua News Agency ) The All China Federation of Trade Unions has called on provincial governments to raise their legal minimum wage amid concerns the real value of the minimum wage is slipping.

• Deal offers power gear to plant
(May 19, 2006) Shanghai Daily - Shanghai Electric Group Co, China's largest power generation equipment maker, tied up with Caterpillar Corp to jointly provide equipment for the world's largest gas-generated power plant in Shanxi Province.

• PPG wants to acquire companies in Asia
(May 13, 2006) Shanghai Daily - US chemicals company PPG Industries said it would like to expand via acquisitions in China and Asia.

• China is world's leading investor in renewable energy
(May 16, 2006) People's Daily Online - China has become the top investor in renewable energy in the world, experts said a senior research fellow with the U.S.-based Worldwatch.

• UK to train top accountants
(May 16, 2006) China Economic Review - China is tackling its shortage of professional accountants by enlisting a the UK's professional accountancy body to train the best students to international standards.

• Greater China IPOs surpass EU, US
(May 17, 2006) Asia Times Online - With global investors eager to take advantage of the Greater China growth story, the average take of new initial public offerings in the region now exceeds that of IPOs in the United States and Europe, according to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

• Invista plans to invest at least US$300m
(May 17, 2006) Shanghai Daily - Integrated fibers and polymers manufacturer Invista (based in Wichita, Kansas), which owns the Lycra brand, plans to invest at least US$300 million in the next six months on China's mainland, according to the company's chief executive officer. Invista was formerly a textiles subsidiary of chemical maker DuPont Co before it was sold to privately held company Koch Industries in 2004.

• Small steps in a long fight against piracy
(May 17, 2006) International Herald Tribune - Analysis of the effect of Beijing’s announcement that local computer makers must ship all their products with licensed operating systems installed.

• China's Alibaba targets search market, eyes IPO
(May 17, 2006) Reuters - China's Alibaba.com (whose biggest shareholder is Yahoo Inc.), aims to hold an initial public offering, but has no timetable yet for listing its shares.

• BOC IPO a big goldmine for Goldman, UBS
(May 18, 2006) China View - Goldman Sachs and UBS will split the lion's share of roughly US$250 million worth of fees for the US$9.8 billion initial public offering of Bank of China.

• Institutions drawn to BOC IPO
(May 18, 2006) China Economic Review - The portion of Bank of China’s initial public offering open to institutional investors is five to six times oversubscribed.

• China lifts IPO ban, implements new rules
(May 18, 2006) China Knowledge - China’s year-long ban on IPOs has been lifted and companies can start applying for IPOs.

• China Mobile Says It's Talking to Google
(May 18, 2006) BusinessWeek Online - China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd., China's largest cell-phone carrier by subscribers, said Thursday it's in talks with Google Inc. to launch an Internet search engine for mobile services in China.

• Yum Brands to open restaurants in China
(May 18, 2006) Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Yum Brands Inc., the parent of fast food chains KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, plans to open at least 400 restaurants in China, 700 in its international division.

• First quarter ad spending jumps
(May 19, 2006) China Economic Review - Advertisers spent US$10.3 billion in the Chinese media market in the first quarter, up 25% from a year earlier.

• Yangtze River Delta uses nearly half of China's foreign capital
(May 10, 2006) People's Daily Online - Urban centers along the Yangtze River Delta, one of China's three major city clusters, has absorbed nearly half of the country's total foreign capital.

• China May Draw $6 Billion in Private Equity in 2006
(May 11, 2006) Bloomberg.com - China may attract at least $6 billion in private-equity investments this year as buyout firms raise bets on economic growth and a rebound in stocks lets companies realize profits.

• BlackBerry E-Mail Service to Be Offered in China
(May 12, 2006) New York Times - Research in Motion has announced that it would introduce its BlackBerry wireless e-mail service in China through its joint venture with China Mobile.

• Best Buy to buy majority stake in China retailer
(May 12, 2006) Reuters - US Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. said on Friday it would acquire a majority stake in a Chinese appliance retailer Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co. Ltd. for $180 million, giving it a foothold in a market dominated by local players.

• Carlyle steps into wood flooring market
(May 12, 2006) China Daily - The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, has announced it will spend 230 million yuan (US$27.5 million) buying shares in Shanghai Anxin Flooring Co Ltd, China's largest manufacturer and distributor of solid wood flooring.

• HP China to hire over 1,000, biggest ever
(May 12, 2006) People's Daily Online - Hewlett-Packard (HP), U.S. technology giant, plans to recruit more than 1,000 workers on the Chinese mainland by the end of this year.

• Global luxury brand to expand business in China
(May 13, 2006) China View - The world's leading luxury brand, Louis Vuitton Malletier, will open three new stores in China this year.

• Microsoft launches technology center in Guangzhou
(May 15, 2006) China View - Microsoft launched a technology center in China's southern coastal city of Guangzhou on Monday which aims to promote the advance of information technology (IT) in China through cooperation with local software developers.

• US firms optimistic about future
(May 16, 2006) People's Daily Online - 91% of US companies operating surveyed are largely optimistic about their future in China, despite certain uncertainties in Sino-US trade relations, according to a report issued by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham-China).

• Next Wave of Camera-Wielding Tourists Is From China
(May 17, 2006) New York Times - For the first time in history, large numbers of Chinese are leaving their country as tourists, resulting in an unparalleled explosion in Chinese travel.