TUESDAY JANUARY 18 2000      PUBLISHED BY CHINA DAILY
                                                           BUSINESS


One of the two new Apple computer series "iMac" is on display in the China Venture Building on Nanjing Road West.

2000 IT forum on the way
A HIGH-profile gathering of IT users and industry leaders will be held in Shanghai in the middle of the year.

Before you settle down to business here...
ARRIVING in Shanghai can be a little disorienting, even for a tourist.

Somerset confident in housing market
SINGAPOREAN property developers are still showing strong interest in the local market though the city has many empty houses.

Rumous quashed, IDD access to stay
SHANGHAI's chief telecommunications operators have denied rumours they are set to ban all IDD business for new mobile phone users in the local market.

Emery offers you quick delivery
LOOKING for somebody for a jumbo delivery to the US? Contact Emery Worldwide, which recently expanded its guaranteed "Gold Priority Express" service for shipments from Shanghai to 48 states in the United States, plus Puerto Rico, Canada, and major points in Mexico.

Government to survey commercial framework
HOW many commercial enterprises are there in Shanghai? What is the city's commercial structure?

Robin Smith: from movie child to top business woman
ROBIN Smith grew up as a Hollywood movie child.

Seek future card users
IN the 21st century, cash payment will be replaced by bank card payment, a senior Visa Inter-national executive said last week.

Website bids to be good medical guide
JUST one click, you might be interviewing with a psychologist in Shanghai, or a traditional Chinese doctor in Guangzhou.

Higher prices, larger capacity for cargo
SERVICES bound for the United States are expected to have more cargo this year thanks to the economic recovery in Asia.

GDP target 9%
THE city government is striving for a 9 per cent increase in GDP growth in 2000. The city achieved a 10.2 per cent increase in GDP growth in 1999, halting the decline in the GDP growth rate for the first year since 1992, said Li Liangyuan, director of Shanghai Planning Committee. The services industry achieved an over 20 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) increase over 1998. At the end of 1999, exports to Asia, the former major export destination for Shanghai, recovered, with those to Japan increasing by 16.8 per cent and those to ASEAN countries increasing by 36.5 per cent. Contracted foreign investment in Shanghai as a whole decreased by 29.8 per cent to $4.1 billion, while investment in fixed assets began to recover in 1999.

‘Waixiao' houses cheaper
THE price gap between properties available for sale to local people and those accessible to foreigners is closing fast.

New Apple products on market
By Ada King

APPLE Computer International Co, one of the earliest and largest computer manufacturers in the world, announced the launch of two of its new series of PC products.

The products, iMac and iBook, will be sold at two Apple franchise stores, at the Apple Centre, in Shanghai.

The iMac products will be priced between 11,000 yuan ($1,300) to 18,000 yuan($2,170) in the Chinese market.

"We will soon introduce the franchise stores, where the customers can get the best and widest services from our company, to other parts of the nation," said Dai Huaizong, president of Apple Computer (China) Region, at the inauguration ceremony of the stores on Saturday.

Dai said the likely regions would include the economically-developed coastal areas and big cities

Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.