MUMBAI: CNN has announced that its journalist Stan Grant who is currently based at its regional headquarters in Hong Kong, has been appointed as the Beijing correspondent. Furthermore his anchor/correspondent position in Hong Kong will taken up by Hugh Riminton, a veteran journalist who joins CNN from Australia's Nine Network     

CNN Intl MD Chris Cramer said, “Stan and Hugh reinforce CNN's commitment to serious news coverage and analysis of the events taking place in the Asia Pacific. China's growth and influence will be a major story in the coming years and Stan's journalist credentials will serve us well. In Hugh CNN has secured an accomplished news anchor whose refreshing style will take CNN's award-winning news team in Hong Kong to greater heights.”

From January 2005, Grant will join Beijing Bureau Chief Jaime Florcruz and take up his new position. he will be responsible for CNN's coverage of China. Riminton will co-anchor the daily show CNN Today with Kristie Lu Stout from CNN's regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

last year Grant travelled with the Lifeline Express to rural areas in China, looking at how a team of volunteer Chinese doctors, nurses and technicians helped the cataract sufferers. A veteran journalist with more than 20 years of experience, Grant has also covered a lot of major news events, including the Federal Elections in Australia, South Africa election in 1992, Hong Kong's handover and the death of Princess Diana in 1997, the Northern Ireland Peace Deal in 1998, the 2004 Olympic flame lighting ceremony in Greece.

Before joining CNN, Riminton worked with The Nine Network in Australia, with the past four years as a news presenter of the evening news programme Nightline. Prior to that, he served as the network's senior correspondent in Sydney from 1995 to 2001, and previously a London-based correspondent from 1991 to 1995.