The 2008 China Investor Relations Annual Conference, along with the 2008 China Investor Relations Awards Ceremony, is scheduled to be held on October 21 in Beijing. Meanwhile, the selection process for the 2008 China Investor Relations Awards has also begun.

The 2008 China Annual Investor Relations Conference is endorsed and supervised by both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and is jointly organized by the China Investor Relations Research Centre, a newly-founded research organization focusing on theinvestor relations practice of Chinese companies listed in domestic and overseas exchanges, Yizhongtongda Financial Communications, a leading Beijing-headquartered investor relations advisory firm, Xinhua PR Newswire and Hexun.com.

China Investor Relations Annual Conference has been held every year since 2005, and has been growing in its reach and influence. The 2007 event held in September in Beijing attracted over 300 industry professionals.

This year's Conference, scheduled to last one full day, is expected to draw over 400 representatives from listed companies, the regulators, domestic and overseas exchanges as well as experts from the academic community.

As a regular component of the Conference, a research team from the prestigious Nanjing University, advised by a group of internationally-renowned experts in the field of investor relations, will be conducting a nation-wide survey of all the locally listed companies to access the current investor relations practice of Chinese companies. This research will also be part of the basis for the selection of the Investor Relations Awards.