Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is to hold a meeting in London on June 3, the first time it has convened outside Asia, according to Long Yongtu, the forum's secretary-general.

Long told a press conference here Friday afternoon that the London meeting will mainly focus on financial issues.

Finance has become an increasingly important topic, and the meeting aims to promote the diversified investment of enterprises and financial organizations, he said.

The move also aims to encourage more Chinese companies to go overseas, he added, saying that many Chinese companies have already been listed in Hong Kong, the United States and other overseas markets, and it is hoped that more Chinese companies go public on the London stock market.

Established in 2001, the Boao Forum has become the premier platform for discussion and debate on economic development in Asia.

Boao, a scenic town in south China's tropical Hainan Province, is the forum's permanent site.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2008)