China's first submarine power cable will be laid through the Qiongzhou Strait this year, connecting the provincial grids of Guangdong and the southernmost Hainan Island, according to the China Southern Power Grid.

A 34.7 km benthal cable and a 144-km trolley wire will be constructed to link a transformer substation in Guangdong's Zhanjiang City and a transformer substation in Hainan's Chengmai County with a 500 kilovolts alternating current grid.

When completed in the first half of 2009, the submarine power cable with a transmission capacity of 600,000 kw is expected to be the longest of its kind in the world.

Software Industry Boom

China's software sector generated 580 billion yuan ($80.6 billion) in revenue in 2007, an annual increase of 20.8 percent, the Ministry of Information Industry reported.

Specifically, sales of software products surged 22.5 percent to 201.7 billion yuan ($28 billion), while system integration income rose 16 percent to 147.8 billion yuan ($20.5 billion), the latest ministry statistics said.

The income of software and technology services hit 97.8 billion yuan ($13.6 billion), up 24.8 percent. Revenues of embedded system software hit 115.5 billion yuan ($16 billion), up 21.8 percent year on year.

Chinese Food Plans for Olympics

The famous high-end-customer-targeted Chinese food chain South Beauty has celebrated the grand opening of their newest restaurant location at Beijing's FullLink Plaza February 2 and laid out their 2008 Olympics Development strategy which is currently underway.

South Beauty's new location covers more than 2,000 square meters and is located in the heart of what is historically China's first international business center, the bustling Chaoyang Shopping District.

According to South Beauty's Chairman, Zhang Lan, the new location is the first important step in their development strategy for the 2008 Beijing Games and marks the huge expansion they have planned for the coming year, which includes 30 new locations in China's top cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Macao.

Safe Tibet Water Exports

The most renowned mineral water brand in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, 5100 Tibet Spring, has signed contracts with two high-level government bodies to make sure the quality of the water and increase exports.

Tibet Glacier Mineral Water Co. Ltd., owner of the 5100 bottled mineral water which is named after the altitude of its water source, 5,100 meters, inked deals with Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine (CAIQ) and Tibet Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau on January 31 in Beijing.

According to the deal, CAIQ will provide comprehensive tests on the water production. Also it will train the company staff to help them establish self-test capacity. Tibet Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau will issue the quality certification and boost the water exports by streamlining the inspection and quarantine procedures.

Macao's Chips Down in 2008

Macao's gaming revenue growth for 2008 will be lower than last year, but as industry development keeps its momentum, a double-digit increase can be sustained, said Lau Pun Lap, member of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Macao's gross gaming revenue rose 46.6 percent to 83 billion patacas (around $10.4 billion) in 2007, which boosted the island city of 528,000 residents to top Las Vegas as the world's most lucrative gambling market.

Lau said latent market risks that might hinder Macao's gaming market of 29 casinos include a possible recession in the U.S. economy, fluctuations of stock markets and rampant snowstorms in the Chinese mainland.