May 14/PRNewswire-AsiaNetNEW B2B PRODUCTS LAUNCHED... HONG KONG: GE Global eXchange Services, the B2B Internet commerce player, today announced the Asian commercial debut of two further B2B products, Electronic Buying Solution and Electronic Selling Solution.ALCAN ADDRESSES IRISH CONFERENCE... MONTREAL: Alcan Inc's president and ceo, Travis Engen, today addressed the 2001 Merrill Lynch Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference in Ireland.CHINESE OIL PRODUCTION CONTRACT SIGNED... BEIJING: China National Offshore Oil Corporation has signed a new production sharing contract with Santa Fe Energy Resources, to cover exploration in the Pearl in the Pearl River Mouth Bason of the South China Sea.EDGEMATRIX BUYS E-FINANCE PROVIDER... SINGAPORE: EdgeMatrix, the multichannel technology specialist, has acquired the Asia-Pacific e-finance solutions provider, Netlife Asia, the company announced today.KINDNESS MOVEMENT TARGETS IMAGES... DENVER: The World Kindness Movement has announced the theme of its 2001 conference, "Picture World Kindness", to be held in Colorado.CARDIO FINANCING COMPLETED... DUBLIN: ThromboGenics Ltd and East Hill LLC have jointly announced the closing of a $US 12.8 million financing round to fund the development of cardiovascular drug programs. SPRINT TO DELIVER AUSSIE WEB CONNECTION... SYDNEY: Sprint, the global IP communications services provider, said today it would deliver an internet connection to Total Peripherals Group, a prominent Australian Internet service provider. GORES BUYS VERIFONE... LOS ANGELES: Gores Technology Group, the international acquisition and management company, has signed a definitive deal to buy Verifone, the secure electronic payment technology provider, from Hewlett-Packard. MUSIC STARS COMPILE TUNES ONLINE... OAKLAND: Uplister Inc, the music playlist-sharing service, said today it has added Japanese pop duo, Puffy and Ken Ishii, to its roll of celebrities who have exclusively compiled their personal playlist for the company. IIJ FINANCIAL RESULTS DUE LATE MAY... NEW YORK: Internet Initiative Japan Inc, the Internet service provider, will report its fourth quarter financial results on 22 May, the company said today. (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated press releases for worldwide clients. Contact: www.asianet.com.au for full-text versions).