Chinese-financed shopping center opens in Russia ST. PETERSBURG, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese-Finnish invested shopping and leisure center opened here for business on Friday, marking a new milestone for Chinese investment in Russia's Baltic region. The 187-million-U.S. dollars Pearl Plaza Shopping and Leisure Center is a joint venture between Chinese firm Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holding) Co. Ltd. and Finnish SRV Group. The 96,000 square-meter shopping center, which houses supermarket, cinema and a range of other services, can accommodate 25,000 guests a day. A group of Shanghai-based companies have embarked on the Baltic Pearl project, a large-scale residential and business district in Russia's second largest city. As part of the project, the Pearl Plaza shopping center began construction in 2011. The planned project includes more than one million square meters of residential housing, as well as a comprehensive range of commercial and community facilities. Once completed, the complex is expected to house over 30,000 St. Petersburg residents and to provide a plethora of shopping opportunities.