China's business press carried the following stories on Wednesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

China opens door to cross-Straits finance---Caijing Magazine

The mainland inked a financial memorandum of understanding with Taiwan on November 16 that is seen as holding the promise of expanding cross-Straits financial activity.

The memorandum will allow QDII - Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors - to invest directly in the Taiwan stock market, domestic banks to open branches on the island and individuals to open RMB accounts on the island.

Li Lihui, president of the Bank of China, said he will soon apply to open a branch in Taipei, and has already selected the branch manager.

Shanghai Pudong looks to jets for a boost---21st Century Business Herald

A new Assembly and Production Center of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC) is set to be located near Shanghai's Pudong International Airport.

The location is near CACC's headquarters in the Lujiazui district of Pudong. CACC's research arm and another industrial base are also located in Pudong, and the new facility will be the final piece in a complete Pudong production line for commercial aircraft from design to assembly.

The assembly center which covers an area of 666 acres is expected to produce 30 ARJ21-700s by 2010, and 50 by 2012.

Fears of tougher mortgage rules stir buying spree---China Business Times

Concern about imminent cancellation of preferential mortgage measures have sent investors in Beijing on a home-buying spree, driving housing price even higher.

A staff member in the credit department of the Bank of Beijing said mortgage loans in the first ten months this year were up by three times over last year's figure.

Midland Realty, a real estate consultancy agency based in Hong Kong reported recently that second-hand home trading volumes in Beijing had reached 217 thousand by November 15, on a par with the combined total for 2006-2008.

Since it is not clear how and when the housing policy will be changed, risk-averse buyers are moving to snap up houses while mortgage finance is still easy to obtain.

Huijin takes over China's fourth largest insurer---National Business Daily

The Central Huijin Investment Company, an investment arm of China's sovereign wealth fund is to buy a 38.8 percent stake in New China Life Insurance from Insurance Protection Fund for 4 billion yuan (US$588 million). Huijin has promised that it will not sell off the stake for at least five years.

The Huijin purchase amounts to the effective nationalization of New China Life Insurance, the fourth largest insurer in China.

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