This year the IHG Beijing Cluster Hotels will host their 7th Charity Golf Tournament on the 3rd of September at the Oriental Pearl Golf Course. The event will commence with an 18-hole round of golf, with snacks and refreshments served on the course. The game will be followed by a gala dinner and charity raffle at the wonderful clubhouse.

We appreciate your support and look forward to your continuous generosity.

Participating Hotels (by brand)
Intercontinental Beijing Financial Street
Intercontinental Beijing Beichen
Crowne Plaza Beijing Wangfujing
Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town
Crowne Plaza Beijing Sun Palace
Crowne Plaza Beijing Parkview Wuzhou
Crowne Plaza Beijing Zhongguancun
Crowne Plaza International Airport Beijing
Holiday Inn Beijing Focus Square
Holiday Inn Down Town Beijing
Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing
Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven Beijing
Holiday Inn Beijing Deshengmen
Holiday Inn Beijing Chang An West
Holiday Inn Beijing Haidian
Holiday Inn Express Beijing Temple of Heaven
Holiday Inn Express Beijing Dongzhimen
Holiday Inn Express Beijing Minzuyuan
Holiday Inn Express Beijing Zhongguancun
Holiday Inn Express Beijing Wangjing
Holiday Inn Express Beijing Huacai
Holiday Inn Express Beijing Shangdi Beijing

About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, over 4,500 hotels and more than 650,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club Rewards with 52 million members worldwide.

IHG has 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 160,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media

About IHG’s School Project with the China Youth Development Foundation
The China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) is a national non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in March 1989 in Beijing. The CYDF works to develop Chinese youth through education, science and technology, culture, physical education, health and environmental protection. The CYDF is best known for launching and managing its largest programme to date, "Project Hope" . Project Hope has sought to help school dropouts in poor remote regions return to school and complete at least an elementary education.

By the end of 2009, Project Hope had raised over RMB 6 billion in donations, helped 3.5 million children from poverty-stricken rural families continue their schooling, built 16,355 Hope primary schools, presented the Hope mini-library series to 14,636 village schools in remote areas and trained over 60,000 village primary school teachers. As a result of consistent effort by staff and supporters alike, Project Hope has become one of the best-known and most successful charity programs in the country.

In November 2007, IHG set up the IHG Project Hope Fund and became an official partner of the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF). The transparently managed fund is dedicated to supporting young dropouts in poverty-stricken areas through Hope Schools, vocational education and scholarship for college/university students. As the first charity fund in China connecting hotels, guests and donors, it not only prolongs the mission of IHG to fulfill its corporate social responsibility, but also promotes the concept of social responsibility among a wider group of people. The creative approach of "donating RMB 5 upon check-in" provides hotel guests with easy opportunities to contribute to worthy causes. The programme has won great support from the nearly 150 IHG hotels in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.

As of December 1st, 2010, RMB 6,582,229.38 has been collected for the IHG Project Hope Fund, and RMB 5,920,000 has been used or slated to be used. The 11 IHG Hope Schools in Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shanxi, Gansu, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Shandong provinces have been built or are currently under construction, with four out of 11 officially in use. Other charity activities by IHG include donations to Hope Classmate for Earthquake Relief Sichuan, investment in vocational education and the IHG Academy Scholarship.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Feng WANG
  Marketing Communication Manager of Holiday Inn Beijing Focus Square
  Tel: 86 10 6473 3333 – 6909
  Email: feng.wang@ihg.com 

On July 7, 2011, the 7th IHG Annual Charity Cooking Competition was held at Crowne Plaza Beijing International Airport. Chefs from 15 hotels of InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands competed in seven categories: Sweet Coffee Break, Cold Appetizer, Laksa, Cocktail, Coffee Barista, Black Box and Chinese Cold Dish 6 Combinations (which is a new competition item of this year’s event.) The most exciting part is "Black Box" competition, where every participating team cooked one dish with the materials given by the organizing committee within one hour. Judges scored by criteria of presentation, creativity and team effort.

After 6 years of enormous success in our charity drive, and having opened 5 schools which in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Hebei province, IHG hotels in Beijing had joined hands once again to provide funding support for "Project Hope" , which is a public welfare undertaking, initiated and organized by the CYDF (China Youth Development Foundation).

During the awarding celebration gala dinner, Mr. Roland Steiner, Regional General Manager, on behalf of IHG Beijing Cluster donated the RMB400,000 check to CYDF to build the 6th Project Hope school. "IHG BN Love Choir" , which is title sponsored by IHG Beijing hotels, also came to the stage and performed charity songs to express their appreciations to all the generous sponsors.

Participating hotel name list:
Intercontinental Beijing Beichen
Intercontinental Beijing Financial Street
Crowne Plaza Beijing Wangfujing
Crowne Plaza Park View Wuzhou Beijing
Crowne Plaza Beijing International Airport
Crowne Plaza Sun Palace Beijing
Crowne Plaza Beijing Zhongguancun
Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town
Holiday Inn Beijing Focus Square
Holiday Inn Beijing Temple of Heaven
Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing
Holiday Inn Chang An West Beijing
Holiday Inn Beijing Downtown
Holiday Inn Beijing Deshengmen
Holiday Inn Beijing Haidian

About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global company operating seven well-known hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. IHG also manages Priority Club Rewards, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with 58 million members worldwide.

IHG is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms and IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, a portfolio of over 4,400 hotels and more than 652,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world.

IHG has more than 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline and expects to recruit around 160,000 people worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at http://www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For our latest news visit www.ihg.com/media, Twitter or YouTube.

About IHG Project Hope Fund
In November 2007, IHG set up the IHG Project Hope Fund and became an official partner of the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF). The transparently managed fund is dedicated to supporting young dropouts in poverty-stricken areas through Hope Schools, vocational education and scholarship for college/university students. As the first charity fund in China connecting hotels, guests and donors, it not only prolongs the mission of IHG to fulfill its corporate social responsibility, but also promotes the concept of social responsibility among a wider group of people. The creative approach of "donating RMB 5 upon check-in" provides hotel guests with easy opportunities to contribute to worthy causes. The programme has won great support from the nearly 150 IHG hotels in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau.

As of 31st May, 2011, RMB 10,380,698.47 has been collected for IHG Project Hope Fund, with which, 13 IHG Hope Schools in 10 provinces have been built or are currently under construction. Other charity activities by the fund include donating Earthquake Relief Schools with ' Happy Music Classrooms' in Sichuan, establishing IHG Service Classes in BN Vocational Schools in Beijing, Chengdu and Sanya, and launching scholarship programmes in 17 IHG Academies.

The China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) is a national non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in March 1989 in Beijing. The CYDF works to develop Chinese youth through education, science and technology, culture, physical education, health and environmental protection. The CYDF is best known for launching and managing its largest programme to date,  "Project Hope" . Project Hope has sought to help school dropouts in poor remote regions return to school and complete at least an elementary education.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Margaret Li
  Marketing Communications Manager
  Crowne Plaza Beijing International Airport
  tel (86) 10 5810 8888
  e-mail margaret.li6@ihg.com
  

LehmanBrown recruits approximately 30-50 graduates each year, which are deployed to cover its five offices in Mainland China and Hong Kong office. The company continues to demonstrate it commitment to assisting graduates with their professional career development, as LehmanBrown’s Managing Partner and Director, Mr. Russell Brown commented: "We are constantly enthused by the high-level of graduate candidates coming to LehmanBrown each year and we heavily emphasis the importance of professional development within the company. This is demonstrated by the fact that most of our employees have either obtained or are currently studying towards a professional qualification."

LehmanBrown International Accountants is an accredited employer and training partner of the top global accountancy institutes including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and CPA Australia. LehmanBrown was the first CPA firm accredited as an ACCA Approved Platinum Employer.

To be successful, candidates first undergo a rigorous interview process and a range of assessments from qualitative to quantitative, and reference investigation. Successful candidates are encouraged to study a professional accountancy qualification which aligns with their work discipline and are trained to be professionals in spirit, mind and all aspects of conduct.

Mr. Brown further commented: "Despite the global economic downturn of 2009, we are pleased to have been able to continue both our graduate recruitment program and wider recruitment strategy in response to business growth. We are optimistic about China’s economic growth in the coming years and are looking forward to welcoming new graduates to the company in 2010."

LehmanBrown International Accountants
LehmanBrown is a China-focused accounting, taxation and business advisory firm, combining international expertise with practical China experience and knowledge. The company operates through offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Offices are staffed by a combination of China and expatriate professionals. Direct staffing is currently around 200 professionals through out China. LehmanBrown is registered with the PCAOB (US) and holds the following employment-related accreditations: ACCA Approved Platinum Employer, ACCA Approved Employer for Professional Development, CIMA Training Quality Partner, ICAEW Authorized Training Organization, CPA Australia Employer’s Club Member, and Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants Authorized Employer.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Beijing Tel: +86 10 8532 1720
  E-mail: beijing@lehmanbrown.com

In an aid to further understand the issues and latest developments within the OSS/BSS space in Asia Pacific, Frost & Sullivan along with Stratecast, is organising the 4th Annual OSS/BSS Asia Pacific Summit (http://www.frost-oss.com/). The summit is scheduled to be held from March 24 – 25, 2010 at Resorts World Convention Centre, Sentosa, Singapore.

Prominent industry thought leaders, along with Frost & Sullivan and Stratecast analysts, will convene to discuss multiple business and operations issues facing CSPs today. Conference sessions will feature case studies involving operators from several countries. The conference will also discuss what the industry still needs to meet the demands of market change in this unprecedented era of business evolution.

Structured to look into the essential OSS/BSS functions and business processes, the summit will discuss implications of new business models, importance of convergent charging, and show why policy management with real-time charging can provide customer control and better match-up of service plans to network capacity. Sessions will also address customer service assurance issues through customer case studies, why data security is more important now than ever before, and bring forward the continued importance of managed services relative to the new service environment.

"User device evolution and network infrastructure improvements continue to be two very critical business drivers in the changing customer services landscape. Enabled by these advances, service offers with real-time components and interactive user control is quickly becoming the norm," said Karl Whitelock, Stratecast senior consulting analyst OSS/BSS global competitive strategies. Karl further adds that market differentiation comes to organizations that can align the necessary OSS and BSS functions to meet today's changing market dynamics.

A noteworthy highlight at the summit will be the keynote address by Malcolm Rodrigues, General Manager for Nucleus Connect, who will share the progressto- date regarding Singapore's Next Gen National Broadband Network (NBN) Business Model, since its appointment by the Singapore Infocomm Development Authority (IDA).

Alongside these highly relevant issues, the Frost & Sullivan – Stratecast OSS BSS analyst team will share their perspective and insights on the conference's main subjects and provide an interactive audience participation workshop held in the afternoon of Thursday, March 25, 2010. This will be available to all attendees as part of the regular conference registration.

Join speakers from Oracle Communications, Reliance Communications, Telekom Malaysia, Telecom Fiji, Clarity, Amdocs, Guardium, TRUE Internet, Accanto Systems, Volubill and senior Frost & Sullivan/Stratecast analysts as they share their success and challenges and provide perspective on some of the most critical business and operations issues faced by the industry at large.

All attending delegates will receive a complimentary copy of the 2010 Stratecast/Telecom Asia magazine survey results.

Oracle Communications is the strategic sponsor for the summit while, Clarity and Tech Mahindra are the gold sponsors. INTEC and Nuance are the breakfast briefing sponsors and Accanto Systems, Amdocs, Fujitsu, Guardium, and Volubill are the partner sponsors. Exhibitors at the summit are AranTech, Fastwire, and VOIPFUTURE.

The official newswire is PR Newswire. Official TV Partner is The Telecom Channel, official publications are Billing & OSS, Telecom Asia and Wireless Asia. Media partners for the summit include BillingViews, China Newswire, China Tech News, GreenChinaTech, Developing Telecoms, TelecomWatch and OSS News Review. Global Revenue Assurance Professional Association (GRAPA) is the supporting association for this summit.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

About Stratecast
Stratecast assists clients in achieving their growth objectives by providing critical, objective and accurate strategic insight on the global communications industry. As a division of Frost & Sullivan, Stratecast's strategic consulting and analysis services complement Frost & Sullivan's Market Engineering and Growth Partnership services. Stratecast's product line includes subscription-based recurring analysis programs focused on Business Communication Services (BCS), Consumer Communication Services (CCS), Communications Infrastructure and Convergence (CIC), OSS and BSS Global Competitive Strategies (OSSCS), and our weekly opinion editorial, Stratecast Perspectives and Insight for Executives (SPIE). Custom consulting engagements are also available.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• MEDIA CONTACTS:
  Surbhi Dedhia
  Corporate Communications
  Phone: +65.6890.0926
  E-mail: surbhi.dedhia@frost.com

  Neethiya Sadagopal
  Corporate Communications
  P: +65.6890.0966
  E-mail: neethiya.sadagopal@frost.com

Hong Kong (February 12, 2010) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — The groundbreaking conference that brought the world's leading architects, designers and developers together is back with a bang for 2010. Relocating from Hong Kong to Shanghai's New Int'l Expo Centre, this year the conference will be held in conjunction with the 18th Annual Expo Build China.

The concept behind the event is "Building Cities for a Better Life", complementing the theme of the Shanghai Expo which will open in May this year. The initial speaker line-up is headed by opening keynote and Japanese architecture legend Fumihiko Maki. Joining him on a wide ranging programme that spans design and business issues are Paul Katz, president of Kohn Pedersen Fox – the firm behind Hong Kong and Shanghai's tallest buildings and green building expert Roger Frechette. Representing Hong Kong will be the city's most renowned home-grown architect, Rocco Yim.

Ashford Pritchard, Associate Director of organiser Facility Media and the producer of the event, says: "The Architecture & Design Conference is the ideal platform for the building industry to engage with the artistic minds that create our cities. This year we will be focusing on how architects can work with developers to build urban environments that enhance their inhabitants lives." An business conference that will bring industry leaders from China and abroad together to discuss the future of design, The Architecture & Design conference 2.0 is expected to educate and inspire in equal measure.

In brief:
What-The Architecture & Design Conference 2.0; A unique business conference for industry leaders.

When-31 March – 1 April 2010

Where-Shanghai New Int'l Expo Centre; In conjunction with the 18th Annual Expo Build China.

Who-Speaking: Fumihiko Maki, Principal, Maki and Associates; Paul Katz, President, Kohn Pedersen Fox; Rocco Yim, Executive Director, Rocco Design Architects; Stefan Krummeck. Principal Director, TFP Farrells; Roger Frechette, AS+GG Architects.

Attending-1-200 architects, developers, industry leaders, consultants, government officials, academics, media.

How Much: Delegate passes range from US$788 to US$1,088.

Read More: At the official website: www.thearchitectureconference.com.

Program and registration forms are available at http://www.thearchitectureconference.com/TADC-Programme-February1.pdf.

About Facility Media
Facility Media is the leading bespoke publication, events and communications organisation engaging with the industries of the built environment in Asia. Facility Media is the publisher of RFP Magazine, Asia's leading publication for the built environment covering the whole life cycle from real estate investment, development, design, construction, project and facilities management. Since its inception in 2004 RFP Magazine has become a must read for industry professionals within Asia, and the rest of the world with a print and digital distribution which reaches over 40,000 people. Facility Media has also conceived and launched a range of knowledge based events for the built environment covering green buildings, retail, commercial and hospitality space, architecture, design and building technology.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• For supporting organisations, media partnership, and general press enquiries
  Ali Kan
  ak@facilitymedia.com
  +852-2851-3140 (Hong Kong)
  +86-21-6149-8582 (Shanghai)

  For programme related enquiries
  Ashford Pritchard
  ap@facilitymedia.com
  +852 2851 9923 (Hong Kong)
  

Bath, England (February 11, 2010) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — With the recent announcement by China Unicom of femtocell launches in various provinces in China, with Softbank and NTT DoCoMo announcing femtocell deployments and trials in Japan, and Starhub launching their HomeZone service in Singapore, there is growing momentum for other APAC operators, manufacturers and applications developers to quickly enter the femtocell marketplace.

For most mobile operators this technology is now seen as an opportunity to gain market share for their brands, increase their foot print in the home or office and reduce operating costs in their networks. With the prospect of greatly improved home coverage, super high data rates, and a consumer expectation of much cheaper (perhaps free) bundled calls, femtocells are hot property and many see a huge first mover advantage for an operator that gains a foothold and potentially consolidate the families' or corporates' mobile phone allegiance to their brand, network and content.

For the existing network providers, such as Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei, ZTE, Motorola, Alacatel-Lucent etc, femtocells could easily be the highest volume basestation product they will ever manufacture, but at the same time perhaps of lowest value and lowest margin.

The mainstream in-home WiFi router providers, Thompson, Netgear, Cisco, etc are beginning to view femtocells as simply a value add to their own router boxes which already take pride of place in the home and many do not like the idea of the cellular network specialist getting in on the act.

Analysts following this community are working hard to tie down the business case, potential volumes, consumer reactions and timescales but this has not stopped a flurry of reports on femtocells being published to try and give a steer to the industry.

Event Information: http://www.avrenevents.com/femtocellsasia2010.

The Femtocells Asia 2010 conference, in exclusive partnership with the Femto Forum, will bring the latest updates from these deployments together with news of new trials world-wide, the most recent analysis of market size and timeframe from leading analysts, the current state of play with standards, as well as presentations and exhibits from the major femtocell vendors and manufacturers.

Other events in the series include the Femtocells World Summit 2010 in London in June, and Femtocell Americas 2010 in USA in December. The Femtocells World Series in 2009 was attended by over 700 delegates from 35 countries (including 39 global operators).

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Please Contact:
  Avren Events
  Marketing and Sponsorship/Carole Mayhew
  tel: +44 1761 492547
  email: carole@avrenevents.com

  Programme Organiser/Andrew Bateman
  tel: +44 1225 723349
  email: ab@avrenevents.com
  web:www.avrenevents.com
  

Beijing, China (February 08, 2010) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — Care for Children was one of the first international NGOs on the scene to help with various relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in Sichuan in May 2008. As part of a long-term commitment to support child welfare development in the region, Care for Children agreed to fund a re-building project in the city of De Yang.

The project plans are for a training and resource centre for the management and development of foster care, special education needs, and support for street children in the region. The project plans received local government approval in April 2009, following which Care for Children made an initial deposit of RMB 1,500,000. In November 2009, the project received national approval from the City Planning & Construction Bureau. Tenders to contractors have been submitted, and construction work will commence following Chinese New Year holiday period, 2010.

Following a visit to De Yang in May 2009, Ms. Zhang Ziyi expressed her personal interest in supporting long-term, sustainable initiatives for the development of child welfare in the region and pledged her foundation's support at that time.

With the approval of the local government to begin work, Ziyi Zhang Foundation has committed to donate US$400,000 towards the construction of the De Yang Children's Centre, and becomes one of the biggest sponsors of this project.

Care for Children is very pleased that the Ziyi Zhang Foundation has committed to financially support the De Yang children's re-building project with a donation of US$ 400,000. The donation will be transferred to Care for Children within three weeks of the ground-breaking ceremony.

Care for Children is excited about the potential this project has to transform thousands of children's lives, and make a positive impact on the development of child welfare in De Yang, Sichuan, and the surrounding region. Care for Children is very grateful for the significant contribution of Ziyi Zhang's foundation to make this project possible.

About Care for Children
Care for Children exists to relieve hardship, distress and sickness in abandoned and orphaned children in China by the introduction of strategic initiatives in child care practice, at the request of, and in cooperation with, the Chinese national and local children welfare authorities. To date, Care for Children's National Foster Care Project has trained staff from over 220 orphanages across 38 project sites in 27 provinces, and has helped place thousands of Chinese children into local Chinese long-term foster families as an alternative to institutional care.

About Ziyi Zhang Foundation
Ziyi Zhang Foundation is a non-profit charity organization, created in May 2008 by Chinese actress Ms. Zhang Ziyi to respond to the needs of her community in the wake of the Sichuan Earthquake. It is a 501(c)(3) charity registered under the laws of California, USA.

This is one of the most high-level summits concerning green building communities across Asia. Inspired by the great success of inaugural Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2009, It will be held for the second time in Shanghai. This congress includes one day pre-conference workshop and two full day conference. This event is endorsed by Building & Construction Authority, HK Green Building Council, HK-BEAM, Hong Kong Association of Energy Service Companies (HAESCO), World Association of Chinese Architects (WACA), India Green Building Council, China Green Building Council, as well as great support from Dongtan Consulting, and Econet.

Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2010 will focus on the sustainable strategy and practice of global buildings' construction and maintenance, including government's latest legislation on green buildings, various rating systems of green building around the world and their standards, real case study sharing on LEED Platinum projects, finding the green value-the green innovation road to environmental sustainability, the ROI of green building investment, design for the climate-how to engineer buildings respond to their environment, green community and eco-cities (Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city and Dongtan Eco-city), sustainable building technologies and green building materials.etc

Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2010 has confirmed eminent speakers from government officials, industry association and leading industry experts internationally, such as WGCB,ChinaGBC, Building & Construction Authority Singapore, China Green Building Design Label Management Office, Arup UK, HOK, Hyder Consulting, ACLA, DNA Green Design, Dubosc & Associés Atelier, Gammon Construction, China Academy of Building Research, Sun Hung Kai Properties, Capital Land, Keppel Land, Shui On Group, UL Environment.etc

Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2010 will bring together Architects, Engineers, Designer, Planner, Investors, Property owners and developers, as well as green technology and energy efficiency solution providers, advisors and consultants to explore & identify the green building requirement of the Asia market, learning innovative green design trends and discussing investment opportunities. Asia Eco Green Building Congress 2010 will provide you with critical industry information and insights to answer all your questions on how to overcome the challenges in green building issues and how to seize the opportunities in it. This is a high-level business networking platform featuring speakers and delegates from industry leading companies and experts from both overseas and locally with plenty of potential business opportunities.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• For further information, please contact
  Robert Young, Event Manager
  Organizing Committee of 2nd Asia Eco Green Building Congress
  Tel: 86-21-58215880; 86-21-68535603(Direct)
  Email: robert.young@ptp-international.com
  Web:http://www.asiagbc.com
  

The Clean Development Mechanism is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in ventures that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. The Copenhagen Accord confirms the continuity of CDM scheme, yet many issues like CDM reformation are left unanswered. The whole industry awaits another chance to digest the Accord and discuss about the future strategy.

The summit features high-profile speakers, insightful contents and senior government officials from China and around the world. In a word, this is an important and strategic summit instead of a trading-oriented conference.

Key countries involved in CDM market will send senior representatives to the summit to share their views and experiences. In particular, Ms. Yoshiko Kijima, the Senior Negotiator for Climate Change, Foreign Affairs Ministry of Japan, will take a strategic perspective to elaborate the future of climate change negotiations and Japan's position.

For more information, you may visit www.attention-global.com/carbon.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Contacts :
  Michael Lok
  Project Director
  Tel: +86 21 5290 9068
  Fax: +86 21 5290 9028
  Email: michael.lok@attention-global.com

Hong Kong, China (December 03, 2009) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — This December marks five years since the devastating tsunami of 2004 hit Southeast Asia, arguably the worst natural disaster of the century. The epicenter of the undersea quake was just 160km hundred miles off the coast of Indonesia and the resulting wave which hit thepeninsula of Aceh left more than 150,000 people dead with loss and damage estimated at more than 97% of Aceh's GDP.

Shortly after the disaster in 2005 a peace accord was signed ending protracted fighting in the province and over the last five years a remarkable outpouring of donor money, some $2-3b, has poured into Aceh in reconstruction and recovery efforts. With aid money now beginning to dry up, the most important question for Aceh is how it will sustain the dramatic economic recovery which in turn will ensure stability and prosperity after nearly 30 years of separatist strife.

This week as part of a new approach to solving difficult challenges of economic development, an international group of young corporate managers will travel to Aceh to propose improvements to the production and supply of one of the region's key commodities: Cocoa

This 13th Global Young Leaders Programme (YLP) is run by the Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT), and facilitated in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Aceh Partnerships in Economic Development (APED). The approach taken by APED in guiding this cocoa project is a departure from conventional donor funded projects. The output is commercially oriented and aimed at creating a business enterprise that can be financially sustainable. Of the three main sectors where APED is focused–coffee, cocoa and rubber–the prospects for cocoa are particularly promising

Global demand for cocoa has been outstripping supply to the extent that prices reported this summer by Cadbury were up 30% over 2008. Unstable supply from the leading producer countries of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Indonesia has motivated buyers to not only secure cocoa beans early, but also invest in farmers to improve yields and quality. Furthermore, consumer demands for organic, fair trade and specialty products have driven exporters such as Armajaro, Olam and others to pay closer attention to traceability and supply chain operators.

All of these factors present key opportunities for Acehnese cocoa farmers, who collectively are currently producing yields and quality of beans that are dramatically below their potential.

The project is also an opportunity to think differently about the role of cocoa producers in the global supply chain for chocolate and how profits might be directed back to rural communities. Despite high end chocolate fetching upwards of $350/kg among affluent consumers, the average price paid to farmers in Indonesia currently can be as low as US$.25/kg.

YLP Programme Manager, Eric Stryson said, " For participants in Aceh, this is a lesson in global supply chains and the realities of serious imbalances along the way. By working on this real life project in Aceh, which has good potential to attract investment into the region, participants can begin to understand the complexities of business and reflect on their own processes of decision-making back in their own companies."

At the conclusion of the participants' work in Aceh, GIFT and APED have organized a business briefing session in Medan on Friday, 11th December which will bring together important stakeholders in the Acehnese Cocoa sector, including key supply chain and government operators, as well as potential investors in the new enterprise.

For cocoa producers and YLP participants alike the mutual learning that will occur in Aceh is certain to inspire new thinking and promising opportunities for the future.

GIFT is a social venture think tank which runs leadership development programmes applying business skills to social causes and linking investment to
commercial opportunities with social impact. The YLP is an immersive Executive Education programme originally launched as a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative which uses a one of a kind approach to preparing corporate leaders for succeeding in a complex and changing world. Previous YLP projects have been based in China,India, Laos and Cambodia dealing with issues such as rural supply chains, sustainably produced forest products and scaling up of renewable energy distribution.

About GIFT: www.globalinstitutefortomorrow.com
GIFT is a social venture think tank that prepares future leaders of corporations, government and civil society to think differently about the role of
business in society and in so doing creates new investment opportunities for dynamic social enterprises in the region.

About UNDP Indonesia: http://www.undp.or.id/
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. Its mission is to be an agent for change to promote human development and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). UNDP Indonesia is working in four priority areas: Democratic Governance, MDG Monitoring and Advocacy, Crisis Prevention and Recovery, and Environmental Sustainability

About APED: www.aped-project.org
APED promotes economic development in Aceh by empowering the public-private partnerships associated with export clusters that enable government, the private sector, and other stakeholder to collaborate, source out opportunities and tackle limitations. The partnership's role is to generate ideas for increasing production, trade and marketing; to mobilize necessary material, financial and institutional resources; and to collaborate with other organizations to implement the plans and initiatives.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• For more information about GIFT and the Global Young Leaders Programme (YLP) please contact Eric Stryson, Programme Manager at +852 3571 8124 or via email at:estryson@global-inst.com

Said European Chamber President Joerg Wuttke, "Our study shows that the impact of overcapacity is subtle but far reaching, affecting dozens of industries and damaging economic growth not only in China but worldwide. Domestically, excess capacity squeezes profit margins, hampers innovation and prevents the emergence of true local champions, while on the global stage its influence is clearly seen in the rise in trade tensions between China and its major trading partners. This study, then, aims to offer solutions that will benefit not only Chinese companies and Chinese industry in general, but the whole global economic system. When China prospers, we all benefit."

The study concludes that overcapacity is a major factor holding back China's sustainable economic development and traces its impact as a driving force in economic resource waste, a rise in non-performing loans (NPLs) and environmental problems. The study further argues that excess capacity in certain sectors is holding back Chinese innovation by reducing company profits, meaning that less funding is made available for R&D. Moreover, as US and European savings rates rise and imports drop, the study findings show that overcapacity is one of the drivers of the current rise in trade tensions and anti-dumping cases between China and its trade partners.

Based on these findings, Overcapacity in China: Causes, Impacts and Recommendations concludes by offering a number of suggestions on how overcapacity can be curbed by shifting policy emphases and continuing to move away from an investment- and export-led growth model. The study's recommendations include:

1. Stimulating domestic consumption and ensuring that new investment is focused on "smart" investments rather than more investments;
2. Promoting the development of a vibrant services sector – which is less resource- and energy-intensive – by encouraging competition;
3. Encouraging market-driven consolidation in sectors suffering from overcapacity;
4. Reforming pricing mechanisms to create a more balanced cost system for capital, energy and resource inputs
5. Strengthen the authorities of Central government agencies like Ministry of Environmental Protection to implement national law and crack down on local protectionism

Said Charles-Edouard Bouee, President of Asia, President & Managing Partner of Greater China, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants: "Industrial overcapacity has a strong impact on companies at every stage of the supply chain and on end users. As demand for China's exports has plummeted in the US and Europe and fixed asset investment has risen sharply in some sectors, the problem of overcapacity has been amplified. For this reason, we believe that this study is a timely and valuable addition to the ongoing discussion about the future direction of China's economic growth."

The full study is available for download at the European Chamber website – please visit www.europeanchamber.com.cn/overcapacitystudy for details.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• For further information, please contact:
  Grace Yao, Press Officer
  European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
  Phone: +86 (0)10 6462 2066 – 30
  Mobile: +86 1367 1168 084
  E-mail: gyao@euccc.com.cn

Hong Kong, China (November 26, 2009) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — DotAsia announces plan to release multilingual domain (IDN – Internationalized Domain Name) registrations in 2010. Following announcements by ICANN to approve the use of Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), DotAsia Organisation, the global top-level domain authority for ".Asia", will accept IDN registrations starting in the second half of 2010 to address the pent up demand in Asia for multilingual web addresses.

"Asia is one of the most important regions for IDN. Asia is already the largest Internet marketplace with over 700 million users online. However, that represents only 18.5% penetration. IDN will bring the Internet to the rest of the people in Asia who do not speak English," said Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia. "Small and Medium sized Enterprises around the world will benefit from IDN deployment. Local SMEs in Asia can leverage their existing brand in their native language to build their online presence with an IDN, while global SMEs can become more Asian-friendly by adopting an Asian IDN as their web address."

There are about 180 million domain names registered today, representing an estimated US$10 billion annual market, including secondary market and value added services. Much of this is currently concentrated in the US and Europe. With IDN, users and businesses in Asia will much better recognize the investment value of domain names because of the ability to represent offline identities and concepts online in their native languages. The deployment of IDN has the potential to dramatically expand the domain market in Asia.

DotAsia will release draft IDN launch policies in December 2009 and invite industry experts and users to provide input in an open process. Policies will be finalized in March 2010 after the APRICOT conference in Kuala Lumpur. Policies to be developed include Sunrise and Landrush provisions to balance intellectual property rights holders concerns and public interests. Offering existing registrants priority to register their corresponding IDN domain, especially for Romanized or transliterated names such as Pinyin domains will also be considered. Updates and information will be posted at:http://www.idn.asia.

DotAsia is the first generic top-level-domain (gTLD) to include IDN TLD in its application to ICANN. IDN is a priority for DotAsia, and the organization continues to contribute its expertise to global IDN development. "Being an inventor of IDN technology, and having served on many technology and policy committees, it is very exciting to see IDN become a reality after over 10 years of hardwork by the community," added Edmon Chung. "DotAsia and its members are pioneers of IDN, and will be among the first to offer full IDN experiences to users in Asia."

About DotAsia Organisation
DotAsia Organisation (http://www.registry.asia) is a not-for-profit corporation promoting Internet development and adoption in Asia. The organization oversees the ‘.Asia’ top-level Internet domain name, and is formed as an open consortium of official top-level-domain authorities around the region, including .CN (China), .JP (Japan), .KR (Korea), .IN (India), .NZ (New Zealand), .PH (Philippines), etc., and regional Internet organizations including APNIC, APNG, APCERT, PAN, APRALO and APTLD. The .Asia domain aspires to embrace the dynamism in the Asia Century to become a nucleus, intersection and breeding ground for Internet activity and development in the region.

Manila, Philippines (November 24, 2009) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — Five companies from India, Pakistan, Philippines and Singapore were recognized for their outstanding initiatives in corporate social responsibility during the Asian CSR Awards, which is a part of the 8th Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) in Manila. Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan, CEO and Managing Director of First Pacific Company Limited, Chairman of Metro Pacific Corporation, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and Smart Communications, Inc. handed over the awards during the ceremonies. A special posthumous achievement award was also given to former President Corazon C. Aquino. Other award recipients are the winners of the Intel – AIM Corporate Responsibility Award and the Banyan Tree Value Challenge.

The Asian CSR Awards, co-presented this year by Intel, is Asia's premier Awards program on corporate social responsibility. This year's awards attracted entries 211 entries representing 132 companies from 14 countries. It recognizes and honors companies in Asia for their projects and programs in corporate social responsibility. The Awards are given in five categories: Best Workplace Practices, Concern for Health, Environmental Excellence, Poverty Alleviation and Support and Improvement of Education. Finalists and winners were determined through an exhaustive search and selection process that include the generation of entries, initial screening, short listing by a panel of experts, and final judging.

The 2009 Asian CSR Awards Winners and Excellence Awardees are as follows:

Best Workplace Practices
Winner: City Developments Ltd: Workplace Health Project, Singapore
Excellence Awardees:
Ayala Land Inc: ALI Green Training Series: "Fostering a Sustainability Mindset within Ayala Land", Philippines
Quezon Power: Employee Empowerment Program, Philippines

Concern for Health
Winner: Pulp and Fibre Business, Grasim Industries Limited: Public Private Partnership for Physical, Mental, and Social Well-Being, India
Excellence Awardee:
JAAG Broadcasting Systems-SAMAA TV: The Polio Control Cell (A united fight against polio in Pakistan), Pakistan

Environmental Excellence
Winner: Tetra Pak Pakistan: Building entrepreneurship and sustainability, Pakistan

Excellence Awardees:
Senoko Power Limited: Senoko Power Environmental Project, Singapore
Smart Communications Inc: Alternative Power for Cell Sites Program, Philippines

Poverty Alleviation
Winner: IBM Philippines: IBM World Community Grid, Philippines
Excellence Awardees:
Chevron Philippines Incorporated: Chevron-Marcellin Kapatid Program, Philippines
National College of Science and Technology: NCST DTS Program, Philippines

Support and Improvement of Education
Winner: Smart Communications Inc.: Your Partner in Education, Philippines
Excellence Awardees:
Citibank N.A. / Citi Philipipnes: Estudyantipid – TV/cable-based finance literacy program for public school children
De La Salle Lipa: Book mobile and Reading Program, Philippines

The excellence awardee of the INTEL-AIM Corporate Responsibility Award (IACRA) went to Manila Water. Smart Philippines was the runner-up. IACRA honors specific companies, NGOs, and organizations in Asia for excellent CSR projects in one or more of the following areas: Education, Community Involvement, Environmental Stewardship and Poverty Alleviation through providing innovative use of ICT.

The winner of the Banyan Tree Value Challenge is KAPAMAGOGOPA Inc. from the Philippines with their project title, Muslim Youth Volunteers for Peace & Development. This award is an opportunity for eligible NGOs to get additional funding by making a competitive presentation of a CSR project or program.

A Special Achievement Award was given to former President Corazon C. Aquino for her outstanding CSR contribution and service to the Filipinos. Balsy Aquino-Cruz, eldest daughter of the late President Aquino, received the award on her behalf.

Four hundred ninety four (494) delegates from 22 countries attended the AFCSR 2009 – recognized as the largest and most significant conference and awards program on CSR in Asia. The Asian CSR Awards program is presented by Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. AIM Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, a research and program center within the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). Cognizant of its mission in developing professional, entrepreneurial and socially responsible leaders and managers, the AIM-RVR center is committed to social excellence. It abides by the principle that CSR can only be sustainable only when CSR can be structured as a business model and regarded as fundamental to strategy and general management.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• For further information on the Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility and Asian CSR Awards, please visit www.asianforumcsr.com.
  Press Contact:
  Vianca Bocalan
  Media Coordinator
  Tel: (632) 812 6289
  Email: viancabocalan@oiceventsasia.com
  

Founded in 2000 by Ms. Ranamagar, herself an Asia 21 young leader, PA Nepal provides a home for children who would otherwise be in jail with a convicted parent, and further allows them the opportunity to attend school. It continues to rescue children from prisons around the country and currently supports more than 300 youth across Nepal, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years.

Ranamager recalls how she had to overcome extreme poverty and gender discrimination in order to obtain an education, eventually becoming a schoolteacher and providing literacy classes for women in her village. In the early 1990s, she met renowned Nepali writer and human rights activist Bishnu Kumari Waiba, also known as Parizat, and began working with her in the country's jails. "It was then that I saw the work that needed to be done," Ranamagar says. "It has meant that I have been able to work with the most vulnerable and the most desperate and I have been able to give them hope and assistance."

The Asia 21 PSA, now on its fourth year, recognizes an organization that has made an outstanding contribution in reaching underprivileged social/economic groups by providing a meaningful service to a community and the public in the region. The selection is overseen by the incumbent Asia 21 Fellowship Class, a core group of young leaders from across the Asia-Pacific, soliciting nominations for the Award and narrowing down the pool to five finalists based on project innovation and feasibility, quantifiable impact, sustainability and growth potential.

Aside from receiving a financial grant, generously provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, PA Nepal also gains access to the network of resources and expertise of the Asia 21 Fellowship Class. This may include mentoring in such areas as Strategic Planning, Capacity Building and Training, Resource Mobilization, Program Development and Management, and Legal Services.

ABOUT THE ASIA 21 YOUNG LEADERS SUMMIT
The Asia Society's fourth annual Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit will be held for the first time in Kuala Lumpur from November 20-22, 2009. It will bring together more than 150 young leaders from across the Asia-Pacific to develop common approaches to meet the region's shared challenges. The three-day event will revolve around the theme "The Changing Face of Leadership: Crisis and Opportunity," and will feature Malaysian Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, as Keynote Speaker at the Opening Dinner.

ABOUT THE ASIA SOCIETY
For more information about Asia Society's Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative, including details about previous conferences and Fellows, please visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Asia21 Asia Society is the leading global organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. It seeks to enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture. Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington, DC. For more information, contact the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Issued on behalf of Asia Society by GO COMMUNICATIONS SDN BHD
  For media enquiries kindly contact:
  Ms. Abigail Pacquing abbyp@asiasoc.org
  Ms. Andora Fredericks andora@gocomm.com.my
  Ms. Sue Ann E. Lim sueann@gocomm.com.my
  Tel : (03) 7710-3288
  Fax : (03) 7710 3289

Raj, Sabrina, Ka Hsaw Wa and Holly are among the 150 young leaders from the Asia-Pacific and the US, all under the age of 40, who will be brought together by the Asia Society for the fourth annual Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, to be held for the first time in Kuala Lumpur from November 20-22, 2009. The three-day event will revolve around the theme "The Changing Face of Leadership: Crisis and Opportunity," and will have Malaysian Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, as Keynote Speaker.

The Asia Society recognizes that in today's rapidly changing world, the people, leaders and institutions of the Asia-Pacific and the US must develop common approaches to meet the region's shared challenges. The Asia 21 Summit seeks to build networks of trust across geographic boundaries and help next generation leaders to educate one another in the highest ideals of values-based leadership. "To make this possible, we need new types of leaders from every country who can both understand the transnational nature of the challenges we face and work together to address them," said Asia Society Executive Vice President Jamie Metzl, who spearheads the program.

One of the signature components of the Asia 21 Summit is the joint Public Service Projects, developed collaboratively by the delegates with the ultimate goal of implementing it in their own communities. These projects create innovative solutions to lingering and newly-discovered social issues, and have wide-reaching impact that transcends borders and cultures.

In its continuing pursuit of excellence and creating trailblazing paths, Asia 21 Summit this year is being positioned as the first conference in Malaysia to be a "Sustainable Summit," where the organizers, sponsors and delegates take extra care to make environmentally-friendly and energy-saving steps such as the use of public transport, and sourcing largely local and recycled products for its requirements.

Established by the Asia Society with support from Founding International Sponsor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Asia 21 Summit is today considered a pre-eminent gathering of Asia's most dynamic young leaders from every country in the Asia-Pacific region and the US, who come from every sector including business, government, media, culture and civil society. To date, the networks counts more than 500 of the most accomplished, brilliant young minds among its members, including businessmen, documentary filmmakers, environmental activists, human rights advocates, members of parliament, military personnel, performance artists, and social entrepreneurs.

This year's main corporate sponsors include Sime Darby and YTL Corporation Berhad, with special support from JW Marriott, AirAsia, Maxis, ASTRO and Powertek. Main partners are ISIS, PwC and Zain & Co.

ABOUT THE ASIA SOCIETY
For more information about Asia Society's Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative, including details about previous conferences and Fellows, please visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Asia21 Asia Society is the leading global organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. It seeks to enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture. Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington, DC. For more information, contact the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Issued on behalf of Asia Society by GO COMMUNICATIONS SDN BHD
  For media enquiries kindly contact:
  Ms. Andora Fredericks andora@gocomm.com.my
  Ms. Sue Ann E. Lim sueann@gocomm.com.my
  Tel : (03) 7710-3288
  Fax : (03) 7710 3289