More overseas donations to arrive in quake-hit China

Source: Xinhua | 05-23-2008 16:12

BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- More donations from banks, local governments and organizations in Australia, Mauritania, Switzerland, the United States and Norway will soon arrive in China for quake relief.

The Westpac Banking Corporation in Australia Thursday donated 100,000 Australian dollars (95,000 U.S. dollars) through the Chinese Embassy in Australia.

The bank also called on their staff to provide donations to areas affected by the powerful 8.0-magnitude quake, said Westpac CEO Gail Kelly. All Westpac branches are open for donations to China, she added.

Meanwhile, the government of Western Australia also decided to provide 1 million Australian dollars (950,000 U.S. dollars) for China's reconstruction efforts following the earthquake which jolted China's southwest Sichuan province on May 12.

Mauritania's largest bank, the General Bank of Mauritania (GBM),Thursday announced that it would grant 200,000 U.S. dollars to help China overcome its difficulty.

Representatives from the Chinese language school in Geneva donated about 6,260 U.S. dollars after mourning the quake victims at the Chinese Embassy on Wednesday.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation and Norsk Hydro ASA, a Norway-based supplier of oil and gas, aluminium and fertilizers, also donated 500,000 U.S. dollars and 1 million Norwegian Kroner (about 200,000 U.S. dollars) respectively.

Editor:Zhang Ning