Deals worth $55 billion signed at China's South Asia Expo

BEIJING: Nearly 300 deals worth USD 55 billion have been signed at the 3rd China-South Asia Expo in Kunming, capital of the southwestern Yunnan Province.

The signed contracts included 255 domestic investment projects with a value of 300 billion yuan (USD 49 billion) and 44 foreign investment and trade deals worth USD 5.7 billion, sate-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Domestic investment covers infrastructure, electronics and information, pharmacy, tourism and energy.

Foreign investment contracts are related to agriculture, manufacturing, energy, culture and education.

The international deals involve companies from the US, Japan, France, Italy, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh heading a 200 business delegation from India took part in the event yesterday. India is the country of honour at the Expo.

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra heading a delegation from his state also attended the Expo.

The five-day expo, also the Kunming Import and Export Fair, opened yesterday, attracting more than 20,000 businessmen and 3,179 enterprises from some 70 countries or regions.