A matchmaker agency in Guangzhou held the stage recently for charging 18,000 yuan (US$2,170) for each successful pairing, the Guangzhou Daily said Tuesday.

Applicants have to pay 4,999 yuan registration fee while providing marriage status attestations, “hukou”, driving licenses and assets attestations before they sign contracts with the agency. The agency collects a successful pairing fee of 13,140 yuan once the couple gets married.

Set up last month, the agency targets finding spouses for millionaires. Four people had already found their life partners through the service, the paper said.

Millionaires find it difficult to find partners because they do not have time for romantic relationships, which staff members said sparked off the establishment. Most of them own companies and others are executives with foreign-funded companies or professionals.

"The applicants are well educated and successful, so they naturally expect their partners to stand out," said a Miss Wang, manager of the agency.

She said although only eight had paid the fee to start a search, she was optimistic about the agency's future.

"We estimated more than 10,000 people in Guangzhou would resort to us to hunt for a partner," Wang said.

Many Guangzhou residents disagree with the service, worrying it would encourage people to seek wealthy spouses.

(Shenzhen Daily June 15, 2005)