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Kunming-Singapore rail link, Yunnan Airport Group seeking investmentTuesday, 2nd September 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)Southeast Asian rail network looking for funds Economic ministers from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced at a meeting in Singapore last Friday that they will hold a conference and exhibition to attract investment in a 5,000-kilometer railway network that will link Kunming with Singapore. According to a joint statement released during the meeting, there are still 550 kilometers of gaps in the network that need to be filled. The remaining work is projected to cost US$2 billion at year 2006 prices. Once complete, the network will connect Kunming, Dali, Baoshan, Hekou and other cities in Yunnan province with Singapore plus major cities in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. Yunnan Airport Group seeks cash for expansion Yunnan Airport Group Co (YAG) is seeking strategic investors to assist in financing its upcoming expansion in Yunnan province, which includes a new 18.4 billion yuan (US$2.69 billion) airport in Kunming that will be China's fourth-largest in terms of both passenger and cargo traffic. YAG is looking for cash-only investors to raise its registered capital in exchange for a maximum 40 percent share in the group. In addition to the Kunming airport, other airport projects will be started around Yunnan. The new Kunming international airport is a key project of China's 11th Five-Year Plan and is positioned to be an international aviation hub with direct flights throughout Asia as well as to Europe, North America and Australia. The airport is expected to begin operations by 2010 and is projected to handle 38 million passengers and 1.3 million tons of cargo in its first year. Hong Kong Airport Authority, Australia-based Macquarie Group, and the operators of Singapore's Changi Airport and Frankfurt Airport have reportedly expressed interest in investing in YAG. Related articles: Kunming-Singapore rail link by 2015? Kunming to build China's 4th-largest airport Tags: ASEAN, aviation, business, logistics, rail transport, transportation, Yunnan Airport Group China's Ministry of Commerce to participate in Kunming FairWednesday, 28th May 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The 16th annual Kunming International Import and Export Commodities Fair - aka the Kunming Fair (昆交会) - will take place again this year at the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center (昆明国际会展中心) from June 6 to June 10. The Kunming Fair is a regional trade fair jointly sponsored by the governments of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Tibet, Chongqing and Chengdu. Last year's Kunming Fair saw 162 companies exhibit their products and more than US$158.5 million in completed deals over five days. The total reported value of contracts and agreements signed at the event exceeded 68.1 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion). According to Kunming media reports, this year China's Ministry of Commerce will participate in hosting the fair for the first time with the stated goal of increasing the scale and quality of the fair. Yunnan Commerce Bureau Director Sun Xiaohong (孙小虹) said this year the fair will feature 2,318 exhibits, adding that 2,148 exhibitors were already confirmed for the event. Sun said that exhibits by Burmese and Sichuanese enterprises will be slightly fewer in number than last year due to the recent Myanmar cyclone and Wenchuan earthquake, respectively. Under orders from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the Kunming Fair will include a "Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridor Forum" (GMS经济走廊论坛) for the first time. The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) includes Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. For the third consecutive year the fair will also feature a 'China-South Asia Commerce Forum',(中国-南亚商务论坛) as well as the clumsily named 'ASEAN Chinese Business Investment Southwest Promotion Meeting and Asia-Pacific Chinese Business Forum' (东盟华商投资西南项目推介会 暨亚太华商论坛). A preview of some of the products on offer can be found on the fair's official website. The website also features other information of less obvious value, including 'Britney Spears loses custody of children', 'Goal-driven achievers less prone to Alzheimers' and 'Abdul says she's straight up ready for a baby'. The Kunming Fair runs from Friday, June 6 through Tuesday, June 10 from 8 am to 6 pm. GoKunming called the fair's office, which told us the admission fee had yet to be announced (last year tickets to the fair cost 30 yuan/day). For more information, call the fair at (0871) 6269886 or 3155519. Image: finance.sina.com Related articles: Yunnan-ASEAN trade continues to boom Kunming hosting Asia-Pacific trade meeting Kunming Fair breaks US$150 million mark GMS agreement to facilitate regional transport Tags: ASEAN, Britney Spears, business, Chengdu, Chongqing, foreign trade, GMS, Guangxi, Guizhou, Kunming Fair, Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Ce, Ministry of Commerce, Myanmar Cyclone, Paula Abdul, Sichuan, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sun Xiaohong, Tibet, Wenchuan earthquake First highway connecting Yunnan and Southeast Asia finishedWednesday, 27th February 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)The 56.3 kilometer, 3.58 billion yuan Xinhe highway is one of the numerous infrastructure projects that will increase connectivity between Yunnan and ASEAN and facilitate the transport of people and goods between the two regions, which are expecting to see a major increase in tourism and trade in the coming years. Yunnan is preparing to serve as a main gateway for trade between China and ASEAN, especially after the launch of the first phase of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) in 2010. CAFTA will be the world's largest free trade area in terms of population, with more than 1.8 billion people. In 2007 trade between Yunnan and ASEAN grew nearly 40 percent year-on-year, totaling more than US$3.03 billion. Yunnan exports to ASEAN states reached US$2.17 billion last year, with Vietnam replacing Myanmar as Yunnan's top trading partner. Related articles: Yunnan-ASEAN trade continues to boom ADB's largest-ever financing project to bring Yunnan, Vietnam closer Tags: ASEAN, CAFTA, Hehou, Lao Cai, logistics, Vietnam, Xinhe highway Trade in 2007 between Yunnan province and the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached US$3.03 billion, up nearly 40 percent over 2006, with Vietnam replacing Myanmar as the province's top trading partner, according to a Xinhua report. Recent rapid growth of trade with ASEAN has made the region Yunnan's largest trading partner. According to Kunming customs statistics cited in the report. Yunnan's exports to the region were up 32.9 percent, reaching US$2.17 billion. Yunnan – bordered by Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam – is being groomed by the Chinese government to serve as China's gateway to ASEAN as the two emerging economic regions prepare for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), the first phase of which will launch in 2010. CAFTA will reduce and eliminate tariffs on goods moving between the two regions, with analysts expecting raw materials and natural resources to flow into China and finished products to flow out. Major road, rail and air transport infrastructure projects in Yunnan and its Southeast Asia are currently underway to further facilitate trade with ASEAN. Some of the more notable projects include a highway linking Kunming with Singapore, a rail network linking Kunming and Singapore via three trunk lines passing through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, a new international airport in Kunming and a road/rail transport corridor linking Kunming with Haiphong, Vietnam – the closest seaport to Kunming. Last month the Asian Development Bank announced its largest-ever financing project, a US$1.1 billion highway project that will connect Vietnamese capital Hanoi with Yunnan. Related articles: ADB's largest-ever financing project to bring Yunnan, Vietnam closer China and ASEAN pushing toward integration Kunming to become regional rail hub China-ASEAN TV summit aims to counterbalance Western media China: More than just Shanghai and Beijing Tags: ASEAN, Asian Development Bank, business, CAFTA, foreign trade, Haiphong, Hanoi, Laos, logistics, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam China-ASEAN TV summit aims to counterbalance Western mediaFriday, 21st December 2007 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)The two-day summit began on Wednesday with speeches by government officials and television industry leaders, including Zhang Changming, Vice President of China Central Television (CCTV). Zhang's speech, "Sending the voices of the East to the world", focused on the need for Eastern media to catch up with Western media in terms of impact and influence. "One thing that cannot be denied is the imbalance between the East and West in global information flow," Zhang said before approximately 200 television professionals and government officials from China and the member states from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Zhang proposed more sharing between China and Southeast Asian countries in the fields of news reporting, documentary filmmaking and television programming and production. "We can work together to grow and become stronger," he said, "and by way of the shared platform created by Asian media, we can let the voices from the East be heard on a global stage." Other speakers included Mr Pratap Parameswaran of the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as television officials from Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. Several representatives of mainland television stations and production companies also delivered keynote addresses. Shialey Tan of Singapore-based MediaCorp's high-definition documentary production company Caldecott Productions reiterated Zhang's message of Asians producing programs about Asia for non-Asian audiences. Tan was at the summit to promote "The Asian Pitch", a contest for independent Asian filmmakers organized by Caldecott, Japanese broadcaster NHK and South Korean broadcaster KBS. "The face that Asia presents to the world should be one made by Asian media, not Western media," Tan said. This year's China-ASEAN Television Cooperation Summit is the first meeting of its kind between China and ASEAN. The summit is scheduled to be held again in 2009. Tags: ASEAN, business, Caldecott Productions, CCTV, China-ASEAN Television Cooperation Summit, KBS, Laos, Malaysia, MediaCorp, Myanmar, NHK, Pratap Parameswaran, Shialey Tan, Singapore, Vietnam, Zhang Changming Beijing investing in major infrastructure projects in YunnanThursday, 9th August 2007 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (1)This year work has begun on the new Kunming international airport which is projected to be the third- or fourth-largest in China upon completion in four or five years. Once operational, the airport is expected to greatly enhance Kunming's international connectivity via new routes to Europe, North America, South Asia and Australia. The other main project in Yunnan underway as of this year is the Dali-Ruili railway, which will extend the existing Kunming-Dali line through Baoshan to Ruili, in western Yunnan on China's border with Myanmar. The line is part of the rail network that will connect Yunnan with major cities in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and also with Singapore. The regional rail network is projected for completion by 2015 and is expected to play a major role in the upcoming China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA). Related Articles: Yunnan beginning major rail expansion China and ASEAN pushing toward integration Tags: air travel, ASEAN, CAFTA, logistics, trains, travel China is planning to invest more than 50 billion yuan (US$6.3 billion) in new railways that will increase connectivity between Kunming and cities in southern Yunnan by 2010, according to a Xinhua news report. Aside from boosting tourism and trade between Kunming and southern Yunnan cities including Ruili and Mengzi, the new rail lines will also form the northernmost portion of the planned 5,500-km Trans-Asia Railway, which will link Kunming and Singapore via three rail lines passing through Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia. Construction of the line that will eventually connect Kunming to Vietnamese capital Hanoi has already begun between Yuxi and Mengzi. The Asian Development Bank has recently approved a US$60 million loan to Vietnam to renovate the 285 km of railway connecting northern Hanoi to the Yunnan border at Hekou. Preparations have begun for work on the other two lines, which will connect Yunnan to Myanmar and Laos via border towns Ruili and Mohan, respectively. The 366-km section from Dali to Ruili will cost around US$1.2 billion and is expected to be completed by 2010. The railway will facilitate trade within the China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area, the first phase of which will be launched in 2010. By 2015, all members of ASEAN - which in addition to the Trans-Asia Railway countries also includes Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines - will have entered the 1.8 billion-person free trade area. Tags: ASEAN, CAFTA, Laos, Mohan, Myanmar, Ruili, trains, Trans-Asia Railway, transportation China and ASEAN pushing toward integrationWednesday, 1st November 2006 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
It's been a busy week in the courtship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Malaysia announced that it is donating used rail tracks worth more than US$2 million to Cambodia to expedite completion of a China-ASEAN railway network that will connect Kunming with Singapore. On Monday the first shipment of tracks left Malaysia for northwest Cambodia, where they will be used to fill in a 48-kilometer (30 mile) stretch of missing rails. The US$15 billion rail network will cover 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) and will connect Kunming to cities and towns in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, as well as to Singapore. The project is expected to be completed by 2015, by which time China and all the members of ASEAN will have entered the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. With 1.8 billion people the FTA will be the world's largest economic bloc in terms of population. Meanwhile, in neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit was held in the capital city of Nanning. Trade between China and ASEAN member countries, which also include Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines has been growing more than 20 percent annually since 1991. One of the major announcements at the summit was a plan for US$5 billion in preferential loans by the Chinese government to assist Chinese enterprises in establishing joint venture operations in ASEAN states. China-ASEAN trade in 2005 totaled US$13 billion. At the Nanning summit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said he expected trade volume between China and ASEAN to reach as much as US$200 billion by 2010. Tags: ASEAN, business, CAFTA, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Wen Jiabao Next 1 2 |
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