World Business Quick Take

■ Traveller Checks
China tightens rules
China tightened rules on the purchase of foreign currency-denominated traveler's checks by companies as the government seeks to control the illegal flow of foreign exchange and fight money laundering. Starting April 1, local companies and China-registered overseas companies who buy these checks must pay for them using their foreign currency capital or current accounts, or their yuan accounts, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement. Payments cannot be made in cash, the statement said. China wants to prevent an exodus of foreign reserves, used to maintain the yuan's nine-year fixed exchange rate against the US dollar. Under the new rules, companies are banned from using these traveler's checks for trade or investment purposes.

■ Domains
New suffices applied for
Microsoft Corp and Nokia Oyj are among several companies that formed groups to sponsor new Internet domains, including ".mobi" for mobile-telephone services and ".xxx" for adult content, Associated Press reported, citing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Ten organizations paid US$45,000 to apply for suffices that are to be set aside for specific industries and interest groups, AP said. The deadline for applications was Tuesday, and applications will be reviewed and discussed during April and May. The new domains could be approved as early as this year, becoming the first new additions since 2000, AP reported. Unlike most common domains, such as ".com," Internet addresses based on the new suffixes would be available to people, organizations or businesses that comply with rules set by the sponsoring groups, AP reported.

■ Hong Kong
More 3G licenses offered
Hong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority plans to auction a new mobile phone license next year that could provide third-generation compatible services, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a proposal from the industry watchdog. The regulator proposed issuing a new license using the CDMA2000 technology, which enables users to access data services such as video and Internet browsing at two megabits per second, similar to the speed of the CDMA 3G platform, the English-language newspaper said. It plans to issue the license valid for 15 years after retrieving two existing licenses from Hutchison Telecom, a unit of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and CSL Ltd when they expire in the second half of 2005, the report said.

■ Copyright
Thailand destroys fake CDs
Thailand yesterday destroyed over 1 million pirated goods in a bid to highlight its sincerity in tackling intellectual property crime, days before opening free-trade talks with the US. Steamrollers, knives and spray paint were used to destroy 1.18 million fake goods confiscated in a year-long piracy crackdown, including music CDs and movie DVDs, soft toys, brand name bags, designer clothing, and watches. The fake items, which are illegal in Thailand but widely produced and sold openly on the streets and in shops, had a street value of 142.5 million baht (US3.6 million). Negotiations on a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the US, the largest importer of Thai goods, will be launched March 23 in Washington, the US-ASEAN Business Council has said.