Sensational-Adelaide.com

STRONGER business ties between China and South Australia are the focus of a dual-language web portal to be launched in Adelaide today.

Tipped to be an online "business hub'' for Chinese and SA investors, the portal will showcase the state's potential as a unique place for business, investment and living.

There will be information on www.whatsonadelaide.com.au - available in Chinese and English - on useful links to government and industry across all sectors in both regions.

The portal set up by Marketminx Australia will use two servers - one each in SA and China - to manage information and updates and will also have the Japanese and Korean language options in a few months.

For starters, the site will offer information on China's Chengdu city (or Panda city) in the Sichuan province, with the aim of more China-wide coverage, Marketminx Australia director and Chinese Chamber of Commerce SA vice-president Edmund Ng said.

``We have provided a platform for investors and are focusing on a business-oriented website,'' Mr Ng said. ``We are expecting about one million hits in nine months.''

Guest speakers at the launch include University of South Australia professor Alfred Huang and ANZ's Claude Piscioneri.

The launch is supported by local and global Chinese business associations, including the Council for International Trade and Commerce of South Australia, the Hong Kong-Australia Business Association, Malaysia's Klang Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce South Australia and the South Australian Tourism Commission.