DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “ADB Helps $4 million on Clean Energy for GMS” plus 9 more

CAMBODIA,​ PHNOM PENH, JULY 11, 2011-The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to help the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) scale up the use of biomass waste in the agriculture sector to meet its growing need for clean energy and food security for poor rural households, the media release from ADB said on Monday.

The ADB Board of Directors has approved a regional technical assistance project that will be funded by a $4 million grant from the Nordic Development Fund along with counterpart financing of $600,000 from the governments of Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.

ADB will administer the grant and carry out the project in the three countries. Biomass waste―such as rice husks and animal manure―is abundant in GMS countries but is not efficiently used as a source of clean energy or as fertilizer. At the same time, the growing practice of large-scale crop production for biofuel poses a threat to food security by reducing food production and forest land.

"Promoting more efficient use of biomass can simultaneously address the goals of fighting climate change and improving the well-being of the rural poor, which are often seen as competing priorities," said Sununtar Setboonsarng, Principal Natural Resources and Agriculture Economist, in ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

The project will fund pilot investment projects to scale up biomass technologies such as household biogas systems, biochar kilns, and improved cooking stoves. The project will also conduct studies, build human and institutional capacity on biomass investment, and promote regional exchange among the GMS countries.

"This project will also help strengthen regional cooperation as it will harmonize bioenergy and biomass standards and regulations in the GMS to bring them into line with global standards," said Ms. Setboonsarng.

The project is due to begin in July 2011 and will be completed by December 2014. The Nordic Development Fund is the joint multilateral development institution of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, providing grant finance for climate change interventions in developing countries. The project is part of ADB's Energy for All Initiative, which increases access to clean, modern energy for inclusive growth and sustainable human development.

CAMBODIA,​​ PHNOM​ PENH, JULY 11, 2011-Cambodian government in cooperation with South Korea on Monday officially opened the first ever stock exchange in history at the Canadia tower along the Russian Federation Boulevard in Phnom Penh to boost the development and growth of the country.

"The stock will help collect the capital from other resources to pour more investment in the economy," Keat Chhon, Deputy prime minister and economy minister said during the opening ceremony here.

Today is a historic event for financial system of the country after the establishment of this stock exchange processes, he added.  Cambodian economy predicted to be growth of around 6 per cent this year. Cambodia also has over 2.5 billion for international reserves. The country is moving ahead to recover from global financial downturn.

Dozens of foreign and local companies already listed in the stock starting its business process.  State run agencies like Telecom, electricity authority, water supply authority and Sihanouk autonomous port will likely list later after their financial reports as French system but the stock used international standard of account in English.

The Cambodian government will hold a 55 percent stake in Cambodia Securities Exchange Co., while Korea Exchange Inc. will control the rest shares. The Korean company has provided information-technology systems in return for the stake, while Cambodia will offer the site and building for the bourse. The facilities have tested for several times in front of governmental officials to observe the process of the stock.

The ceremony today also attended by the senior officials from south Korean exchange stock, and Minh Bankosal, director general of security exchange commission of Cambodia ( SECC) .

TAIPEI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A tourist coach overturned in Ali Mountain, Taiwan, Sunday afternoon, injuring 6 tourists from the Chinese mainland and one local tour guide.
All the injured were sent to a local hospital immediately after the incident, said Liu Kezhi, director of Taipei office of the Cross-Straits Tourism Exchange Association.
One of the injured was still in the hospital, and the others who suffered minor injuries were discharged from hospital, he said.
Liu said, the coach, carrying tourists from Zhejiang Province, overturned for braking disfunction on the highway of Ali Mountain.
The Zhejiang tourist group arrived in Taiwan on Friday.

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chen Bingde, Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), held talks with his U.S. counterpart Mike Mullen on Monday in Beijing.
"We discussed four major topics, including the South China Sea, the attitude of some U.S. politicians toward China, cyber security and China's military development," Chen said after a close-door meeting with Mullen.
Both sides exchanged views on those issues in a candid manner, he added.
"It's fair to say that we found a lot of common ground while we do have different opinions on certain issues," Chen said.
Chen urged the two sides to implement the consensus reached by their heads of state to push forward the development of bilateral military relations.
Mullen, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Beijing Saturday night for a four-day visit to China. A welcoming ceremony was held earlier Monday morning ahead of his talks with Chen.
Mullen is making the visit at the invitation of Chen, as a reciprocal visit for Chen's trip in May to the United States.

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares ended higher at midday Monday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.09 percent to close at 2,800.18.
The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 0.26 percent to finish at 12,436.79.

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Following are home news items to be covered or pursued by Xinhua on Monday:

-- Escalator accidents sound alarm amid China's subway construction craze
-- Follow-up on mine fire in east China's Shandong Province
-- Follow-up on mine accident trapping 12 in southern Guangxi
-- Follow-up on mine flood in Guizhou
-- Blue algae attacks China's Qingdao port, Chaohu Lake


TV News Magazine: CHINA VIEW
1, Click on Today
Efforts to save miners trapped in E China
HOW CAN CHINA' S ANIMATION GROW FROM BIG TO POWERFUL?
2, Natural farming becomes new fashion in China
3, Individual tourist travel to Taiwan kicks off
(14:30,19:30, 23:00)

Editor's Notes: China View from CNC World is a 30-minute daily English in-depth news program that brings global audience a panorama of what happens across China and face-to-face interviews over hot issues in China that interest people around the world.
Global viewers can tune into CNC English programs via Asia-Pacific Satellite-6 at 134 degrees east longitude, with parameters set as "6065MHz/3840MHz." The programs can also be viewed at www.cncworld.

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China announced Monday to provide humanitarian materials worth 50 million yuan (7.73 million U.S. dollars) to the Libyan people.
The move is made "to ease the humanitarian disaster of the Libyan people," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in response to a journalist's question.

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China's stock index futures opened mixed on Monday with the contract for settlement in July, the most actively traded, opened flat at 3,113.8.
The August contract opened 4.2 points lower at 3,116.6.
The contract for settlement in September opened 2.2 points lower at 3,131 points.
The contract for settlement in December opened at 3,174 points, 9 points lower from the previous close.
The stock-index contracts, agreements to buy or sell the Hushen 300 Index at a present value on an agreed date, are designed to allow investors to bet on and profit from both gains and declines in the market.
The index futures were launched at the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) and started trading from April 16, 2010. The CFFEX has set the base value for all the four contracts at 3,399 points.

Correction: changes "colliery" to "iron ore mine" in headline and lead
JINAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-one workers were trapped underground when water flooded an iron ore mine in east China's Shandong Province Sunday night, the local government said early Monday.
Water flooded a pit of Zhengdong Mining Co. Ltd in Fangzi District of Weifang City at around 11 p.m., when 28 people were working, the city government said in a press release.
Seven people managed to escape, it said.
Rescue work continued Monday. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
This is already the fourth mine disasters in China in 10 days.
In Shandong's Zaozhuang city, 28 coal miners were still trapped after an air compressor caught fire Wednesday.
In the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, rescuers continued to search for 12 workers who were stranded in a coal pit since July 2.
Meanwhile, rescue work has continued for 9 days after a colliery flood trapped 23 workers underground at a pit in Guizhou Province.

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- ChiNext Index opened at 894.07 points Monday, down 0.84 point from the previous close.
The index, officially launched on June 1, 2010, on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has a base value of 1,000 points.
The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and the Shenzhen SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Board Index, makes up the three core indices reflecting the performance of China's stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.