Taiwan has lifted a decades-old ban on travel to the island by individual Chinese tourists, saying visitors would act as "peace ambassadors" for the former arch foe. The first batch of independent mainland tourists, from Beijing, Shanghai and the city of Xiamen on the southeast coast, will arrive next Tuesday (June 28).

European companies in China ranked Shanghai as the most attractive city to locate their Asia-Pacific headquarters as the Chinese city provides companies with direct access to the region's biggest market, according to a survey.

Copper advanced for a third day from London to Shanghai on optimism the economic recovery in the US remains on track, boosting the demand outlook for the metal amid supply disruptions at the world's third-largest copper mine.

Agricultural Bank of China, a lender which boasts more customers than the entire US population, has raised US$19.2 billion from investors, according to several news reports. Shares of the company are expected to begin trading July 15 in Shanghai.

Taiwan and China on June 14 launched a new flight between Taipei and Shanghai that will cut the time travellers spend on their journey, according to officials. Three airlines from Taiwan and one from China will service the route, which links Sungshan airport, in downtown Taipei, and Hongqiao airport in Shanghai.

Civil aviation regulators from Taiwan and China have agreed to add 28 direct passenger flights a week between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport in order to meet increasing demand for cross-straits flights, according to Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration. The new flights will begin operating before June 14.

Telecom operator China Unicom is investing 20 billion yuan (US$2.93 billion) in Shanghai over the next three years to expand and upgrade its network in the city.

Broadcom Corp has announced that its continued collaboration with RaisingSun Digital Video Technology Co of Shanghai, China, has produced a next-generation 'all-in-one' digital television (DTV) turnkey solution that supports all Chinese broadcasting standards, including AVS, as well as Internet connectivity.