Singapore - China and Singapore concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement, China's first with an Asian country, news reports said Friday.

The agreement, finalized in talks this week between Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan in the northern coastal Chinese city of Tiajin, is likely to be signed at the Asia Europe Meeting Summit in Beijing on October 24-25.

Singapore  - Two Singapore sovereign wealth funds were ranked sixth and seventh in the world for good governance and transparency by a US-based economic think tank, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Tamasek Holdings was sixth, followed by the Singapore Government Investment Corp, The Straits Times said.

The rankings of 100 government investment funds by the Peterson Institute for International Economics put Norway's Pension Fund-Global in the top position.

The rankings were released at a summit this week of global sovereign wealth funds and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Santiago, Chile.

Singapore - Singapore and China have agreed to jointly build an eco-city near China's northern port city of Tianjin into a model of sustainable development, The Strait Times reported Thursday.

The model city will have an economy based on the sustainable use of resources the two countries agreed in Beijing during the first meeting of the China-Singapore Joint Steering Committee for the Tianjin Eco-city on Wednesday.

The eco-city will be 40 kilometres from Tianjin, an industrial city 150 kilometres north of Beijing. It is the first joint venture between China and Singapore to address growing concerns about pollution and serve as a model for other projects.

Singapore- A Singapore court sentenced retail magnate Tang Wee Sung to one day in prison and fined him 10,000 Singapore dollars (7,000 US dollars) for making a false declaration to get a kidney transplant, local media reported Wednesday.

The court also fined Tang 7,000 Singapore dollars for illegal organ trading.

Singapore - Singapore received top marks for being the world's best meeting venue in 2007 by the international non-profit Union of International Associations, overtaking previous favorites Paris and Vienna, The Strait Times reported Wednesday.

The Asian city-state topped the rankings of meeting, exhibition and convention of the year and also won in the categories of best business event venue and business ambassador., the paper said.

Singapore - Singapore and Malaysia have set up a joint technical committee to sort out the issues surrounding sovereignty over the disputed territories of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, a media report said Tuesday.

Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rais Yatim and Singapore's Foreign Minister George Teo announced the panel and emphasized both countries' commitment to "honour and abide by the International Court of Justice(ICJ) judgement and fully implement its decision."