SYDNEY, Feb. 17--AsiaNet/InfoQuest CHINA CONTRACT... BEIJING: Chindex International, Inc., the largest independent American distributor of Western healthcare products and services in China, Thursday announced that its German subsidiary, Chindex China-Export, GmbH, has been awarded a contract to supply medical equipment to hospitals in two Chinese provinces under a financing arrangement sponsored by the German Government and funded by KfW Development Bank. http://www.chindex.com http://www.unitedfamilyhospitals.com TEST LAUNCH... SAN DIEGO, Calif.: Biosite Incorporated, a research-based provider of novel, rapid medical diagnostics, Thursday announced the launch of its new, rapid, quantitative Triage D-Dimer Test, extending availability of the test to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa and the Caribbean. http://www.biosite.com EXPERTISE OFFER... AUCKLAND: Peter Gustavson, President and CEO of Custom House Global Foreign Exchange, Thursday said the company is willing to offer its expertise in the control of money laundering and terrorist financing to the government of New Zealand. http://www.customhouse.com DIRECTOR RESIGNS... SYDNEY: Benitec, Ltd. Thursday announced that Mr. Gary Taylor has resigned as a director of the company. http://www.benitec.com.au/ LIVE CONCERT... BREDA: On April 16th, the Best DJ in the World, Tiesto, will celebrate the launch of Space Mountain: Mission 2 in a spectacular way, with a live concert right at the heart of Disneyland Park. http://www.tiestoatdisney.com NETWORK MANAGEMENT... ASHBURN, Va.: MCI, Inc. Wednesday announced that it is rolling out a new set of global network management tools and expanded classes of service for Private IP, its fastest growing service. http://www.mci.com FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principal amount of one securities issue valued at US$50 million on Feb 26, 2005 at a redemption price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount redeemed plus accrued interest. http://www.fanniemae.com PREFERRED PROVIDER... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.: Harris Corporation, a leading global provider of wireless equipment and services, Wednesday announced that Sprint, one of the world's largest providers of wireless communications, has named Harris as its preferred provider of point-to-point microwave technology. http://www.harris.com http://www.sprint.com/mr GSMA AWARD... CANNES: Mobile Unlimited from Swisscom Mobile has won the GSMA Award for Best Enterprise Application. http://www.swisscom.com CHARGING SYSTEM... SINGAPORE: Lucent Technologies and NetSpira Networks Wednesday announced that they have provided MobileOne Ltd (M1), Singapore's leading mobile communications operator, with a content-based online charging system for GPRS and UMTS services. http://www.lucent.com http://www.m1.com.sg http://www.netspira.com COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY... BRISBANE: The Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID) is set to unveil ground breaking new digital entertainment and communication technology at an international conference in the United Kingdom Thursday that could have the same impact on digital communication as SMS messaging. (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)