China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd. (CNOOC), the country's largest offshore oil producer, said on March 23 that its net profits fell 9.3 percent to 63.69 billion yuan ($10.24 billion) in 2012.

Increased taxes and surging costs for oil and gas exploration reduced the company's profit intake, said the company in its 2012 report filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Despite the fall, the oil giant remains one of the most profitable companies in the country.

In 2012, its oil and gas revenues rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier to 194.77 billion yuan ($31.36 billion). Oil and gas output totaled 342.4 million barrels, up 3.2 percent year on year, due to remarkable output in oilfields in the Bohai Bay.

Merchandise Fair

The 2013 Shandong Fair Merchandise Fair opened on March 26 in the western Japanese commercial city of Osaka, with more than 100 firms and factories from the Chinese province attending the three-day event.

The 15th session of the Osaka event, held in MyDome Osaka, a major exhibition hall in the city's center, was organized by Japan-China Economic Relations and Trade Center and Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, which led a delegation consisting of more than 250 business leaders and entrepreneurs from the province.

Lu Wei, deputy director of the province's Department of Commerce said that about 30 percent of the participants came to the event for the first time with high expectations and hopes of what they will sell or achieve in the Japanese market as well as of establishing a market presence in Japan, stressing that every year continuing the Osaka event is key to developing economic relations between the two sides.

According to the organizer, this year's event saw 100 booths on display on two floors, which were divided into three sections: daily necessities specially arranged for Japanese users, home fabrics and apparel.