More than 500 deals worth over 200 billion yuan (US$24.1 billion) are expected to be signed on the first day of an economic and trade fair to be attended by delegations from nine southern provinces, Hong Kong and Macao later this week.

More than 15,000 people, including entrepreneurs and government officials, are expected to attend the First Pan-PRD Regional Economic & Trade Cooperation Fair being held in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong Province, between July 14 and 17, said Xu Shangwu, executive deputy director of the organizing committee of the fair, yesterday.

Pan-Pearl River Delta (Pan-PRD) regional cooperation, featuring the largest economic bloc in China, was officially launched in early June to enhance economic ties.

The region, also known as "9+2," encompasses the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, Guangxi, and Hong Kong and Macao.

The deals to be signed on the first day of the fair include those between companies and those for promoting economic cooperation among the governments of the 11 regions, Xu said.

Government officials would sign, for example, agreements for closer cooperation in transportation, power, tourism, environmental protection and implementation of the CEPA, a free trade pact signed between the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao which took effect in January this year.

(China Daily July 13, 2004)