Hub creates fund to lure LED makers

Chongqing Liangjiang New Area has established a 1 billion yuan ($162 million) fund targeting LED manufacturers from home and abroad, according to its management committee. The fund will be invested in a project consisting of up to four phases. The first phase, which has received 200 million yuan in funding, covers LED street lamp installation and overhaul as well as investment in spin-off product makers.

Guangdong

WeChat eyes overseas expansion

WeChat, the mobile chatting tool developed by Tencent Holdings, is discussing overseas expansion in cooperation with Chinese mobile carriers, according to Tencent's chairman. The mobile application has gained more than 400 million users in about two years, and will never charge fees from customers, said Pony Ma at a forum in Guangdong province, in response to media questions on WeChat's conflict with mobile operators' businesses.

Beijing

Foreign insurers get yuan green light

Foreign-funded insurance companies will be allowed to use renminbi as registered capital to operate in China. The amended Regulation on the Administration of Foreign-funded Insurance Companies, taking effect from Aug 1, suggested that the minimum registered capital of equity joint venture insurance companies and wholly foreign-owned insurance companies should be 200 million yuan ($32.6 million) or the equivalent in freely convertible currency.

Nationwide soil survey to start

The government is planning to conduct a nationwide soil pollution survey, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Wednesday. Soil samples will be collected at multiple depths in order to find the natural condition of the soil and the impact that human activity has had on it. Previous investigations indicate that some regions are heavily polluted, particularly near the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Heavy rain set to continue in SE

Heavy rain is expected to continue in southeast China from Wednesday to Friday, the National Meteorological Center said on Wednesday. The rain will hit parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan, with some of these areas expected to experience precipitation of around 50 to 90 mm. Some of these areas are also expected to experience strong winds and lightning.

Hunan

Teacher accused of molesting girls

A teacher has been detained on suspicion of molesting his female students in Hunan province amid public outcry sparked by similar cases nationwide. The 57-year-old primary school teacher, surnamed Xu, is suspected of molesting students during homework tutoring sessions, said Kuang Liqun, publicity head of Xinning county, where Xu's school is located, on Wednesday. The headmaster of the school where Xu teaches has been suspended.

Jiangxi

Solar panel makers tap Africa

Chinese solar panel makers may increase their presence in Africa after China finishes building one of the biggest solar power stations on the continent. They will supply most of the $140 million needed to build a solar power station in Garissa, Kenya, according to State-owned China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation, the deal's coordinator. The company said on Wednesday that the project will serve as the base for China's biggest solar panel makers to expand their African operations.

Liaoning

Nuclear station opens for business

The first unit of the Hongyanhe nuclear power station, the first nuclear power plant and largest energy project in Northeast China, went into commercial operation on June 6. It increased the number of nuclear power units operating on the Chinese mainland to 17, with a total installed capacity of 14.77 million kW The new unit - at Wafangdian in Dalian, Liaoning province - can generate 26 million kWh of electricity everyday.

Jiangsu

Deadly blast caused by gas leak

An explosion that killed 11 people when it ripped through the employee cafeteria of an office building in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Tuesday was caused by a gas leak, early investigation shows. In a news briefing released that night, the news office of the city's government said 20 people were buried in the debris when three floors of the building, in a liquefied gas storage site on Sufu Road, collapsed after the explosion.

Guizhou

Drug gangs busted; 22 arrested

Three drug-dealing gangs have been busted in Guizhou province. The gangs bought drugs from neighboring Yunnan province, processed them in Guizhou and sold them in Zhejiang province and Shanghai, according to the police chief in Bijie, the gangs' home base, on Wednesday. Police have arrested 22 suspects, including the gangs' leaders and confiscated 18 kg of heroin.

Xinhua - China Daily