China's service trade exceeds $300 bln in 2008
According to the Ministry of Commerce, China saw its export and import volume in private service trade total 304 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up 21 percent from a year earlier. The growth rate was down 9.6 percentage points compared with 2007. Service exports hit 146 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 20.4 percent whilst Service imports reached 158 billion U.S. dollars, up 22.2 percent.

SSF reports first annual loss since founding
And now concerning news. China's Social Security Fund (SSF) reported its first annual loss since its founding eight years ago, losing 6.79 percent on its investments in 2008. The loss mainly reflected last year's A-share market plunge, as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled about 60 percent. Realized gains in 2008 stood at 23.36 billion yuan (about $3.86 billion), against a nominal loss of 102 billion yuan.

Visitors to Hong Kong up 1.8% in Q1
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, around 740 million people visited Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2009, a year-on-year rise of 1.8%. The tourism industry had a positive start this year, driven by growth in mainland visitors. However the outlook remains highly volatile given the continued impact of the financial crisis and the threat of the Influenza A/H1N1.

Guangzhou Asiad Marketing Development Makes History
According to Fang Da'er, the Director of the Marketing Department for the Guangzhou Asian Games, despite the financial crisis, the 16th Asian Games has signed sponsorship agreements with 28 enterprises, collecting more money than any of the previous Asian Games. Copyright royalties collected from medias in China,South Korea, Korea DPR and the Middle East have also surpassed that of the 2006 Doha Games.

(source from www.king1.com.cn)