Yunfu companies signed a total of 102 investment and trade contracts during the three-day third China (Yunfu) International Stone Fair that ended in the city in late October. The contracts have a total investment of more than 1.3 billion yuan (US$163 million). Of the contracts, 13 are investment projects worth a contract investment of more than 441 million yuan (US$55.13 million), up 74 per cent from the previous event. And the other 89 trading contracts signed at the fair were worth more than 863 million yuan (US$107.88 million), an increase of 238 per cent from the figure reached at the previous event. Yunfu organized the first and second events in 2000 and 2004 respectively, to sell more of the city's stones and stone materials at home and abroad. Covering an exhibition floor space of more than 30,000 square metres, the fair saw exhibits from more than 220 local companies. They displayed more than 4,500 different kinds of stone products at 420 booths from October 21 to 23 in Yunfu's Yuncheng District. More than 9,500 businesspeople visited the fair. Of them, 804 were foreign buyers and business representatives from around the world. Ou Zhenzhi, mayor of Yunfu, said, in addition to helping his city sell more products, the fair has helped Yunfu further raise its reputation at home and abroad. "Yunfu intends to further expand its investment to develop the city's stone material industry and develop more big special stone material markets in the following years," Ou said. The stone material industry has become a special pillar industry of Yunfu. The city's industrial output value from stone materials reached 4.3 billion yuan (US$537.5 million) last year and is expected to hit 5.5 billion yuan (US$687.5 million) this year. Ou said Yunfu would further develop the stone material markets to build Yunfu into a major stone production base and distribution centre in the country. Currently Yunfu has more than 110 stone and related industrial companies, employing more than 100,000 people. Ou promised to introduce more advanced technologies and equipment and talent from home and abroad to further upgrade the city's stone and stone processing industries in the following years. Meanwhile, Yunfu will annually organize an international stone fair starting from 2007 to help promote sales and attract foreign investment. The China (Yunfu) International Stone Fair is jointly organized by Yunfu municipal government and the Guangdong branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.