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First World Yongding Fellowship Conference held in Fujian

By Tong Hao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-11-16 13:19

Over 800 overseas Chinese from the county of Yongding, in Fujian Province living in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Burma and other Southeast Asian countries attended the First World Yongding Fellowship Conference.

The conference, which was held in Yongding on Nov 15 and 16, was intended to encourage citizens of Yongding living overseas to invest in their hometown. About 500,000 Yongding citizens live overseas, spread between over 30 countries worldwide, while only 480,000 live in the county itself.

At the opening ceremony, the Yongding government awarded 24 outstanding overseas Yongding people the title "Citizen of Honor", including university professors, entrepreneurs, doctors and social community leaders.

On the afternoon of Nov 15, six contracts were signed. Some were denominated in renminbi, with a total investment of 3.16 billion ($US 46.29 million). $US 37.8 million in US dollar-denominated contracts were also signed. The investors are from Taiwan, Xiamen and Singapore and projects include hotels and amusement parks, electronics, cement, and construction materials.

The conference also included performances and local snacks. A second conference will be held in Malaysia in 2010.