SYDNEY--22 Feb--AsiaNet/InfoQuest ASIA ASSET... LONDON - Northern Trust has been awarded the title of "BestCustodian in Asia Pacific" by Asia Asset Management magazine inits 2007 annual "Best of the Best" awards.www.northerntrust.com CELLECTRICON EXPANSION... GOTHENBURG - With two successful international productlaunches, Swedish biotech firm Cellectricon is entering a newexpansion phase. The share issue will strengthen Cellectricon'sfinancial capacity prior to a number of significant productlaunches in 2008-2009. NEURALSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT... ROCKVILLE Stem cell company, Neuralstem, Inc., announcesthat Korean conglomerate, CJ CheilJedang Corporation haspurchased an option to negotiate for the exclusive license toNeuralstem's stem cell-products and technology after thecompany completes a successful human clinical trial.www.neuralstem.com SOCIAL NETWORKS... BURLINGTON kluster, a web-based platform that enablescommunities to collaborate and decide, launches its free publicbeta and ideas are welcomewww.kluster.com IRON MOUNTAIN DELIVERY... BOSTON and SYDNEY Iron Mountain Incorporated the globalleader in information protection and storage services, todayannounced that its Connected-R Backup for PC and LiveVault-Rserver backup solutions are now available directly toAustralian businesses and partners via a locally-operated datacenter in Sydney, Australia. www.ironmountain.com . WELLS FARGO APPOINTMENT SAN FRANCISCO Wells Fargo & Company today said it hasappointed Bryan Smith as vice president and Asia Pacificregional manager for Global Correspondent Banking. Jim Cullen,who previously held this position since 1999, has been promotedto lead strategic initiatives for Global CorrespondentBanking.www.wellsfargo.com OIL AGREEMENT... NEW YORK Chairman of the Board of Directors of Midland Oiland Gas, Robert M. Murphy, announced today that the company hasreached an agreement with Mr. Seong Eun Hong, Chief ExecutiveOfficer and Chairman of Ko-Turkmenistan Caspian Sea Oil and GasCorp., to explore the potential of joint business opportunitiesin Turkmenistan. FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principalamount of MTN securities issues amounting to a total of US$183million on 1 March, 2008 at a redemption price equal to 100percent of the principal amount redeemed plus accruedinterest.http://www.fanniemae.com SIEMENS ANNOUNCEMENT... CONCORD, California - Siemens Healthcare announces anexclusive partnership with Prowess Inc. to develop advancedradiation oncology treatment planning software for integrationinto Siemens' linear accelerators. The combination of Prowess'unique treatment planning system with Siemens' leading oncologysolutions technology will help provide users with one of themost effective and reliable radiation therapy treatmentsolutions available in the market.www.usa.siemens.com/healthcare PEPSICO CONFIDENCE... PURCHASE, New York During comments today at the ConsumerAnalyst Group of New York Conference in Boca Raton, FL, PepsiCowill express its confidence in the Company's business outlookand confirm its 2008 guidance.www.pepsico.com. BRITS DRAWN... BRISBANE - British residents will discover first-hand atthis month's A Place in the Sun Live overseas propertyexhibition in Manchester why so many of their countrymen arelining up to buy prestige Australian coastal properties.www.aplaceinthesunlive.com www.juniper.com.au VENTURE CAPITAL... BEIJING and SHANGHAI, China - Billboards, hotels, taxiservices and similar businesses were favorites of investors inMainland China in 2007, as annual venture capital investment inthe region reached its highest level in six years with $2.49billion invested in 241 deals, according to the China QuarterlyVenture Capital Report released today by Dow JonesVentureSource. This represents a 5% increase in investmentover 2006 despite 14 fewer deals in 2007.www.factiva.comwww.newscorp.com AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwideclients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.