AUTO EXPO: The Seventh Shenyang International Auto Industry Exposition began on July 8 in Shenyang, capital city of Liaoning Province in northeast China. More than 70 vehicle brands from around the world were on display

Costly Flights

China's major jet oil provider, state-owned China National Aviation Fuel Group Corp., announced on July 8 that it had raised the price of aviation oil by 720 yuan ($103) per ton, retroactive to July 1.

Chinese jet oil providers have been saddled by tight margins because of soaring international oil prices and a relatively low domestic price capped by the government.

This move, designed to reduce the price disparity, means that domestic aviation oil now costs more than 7,000 yuan ($1,000) per ton.

Meanwhile, domestic airlines are also under heavy pressure to increase aviation oil prices, as aviation oil expenditures constitute a major part of the airlines' costs.

Going African

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., China's largest telecommunications network and equipment supplier, is spreading its footprint in Africa by providing 3G equipment to Safaricom, Kenya's leading mobile network operator.

The multi-million dollar deal will give the Kenyan company one of the best telecommunication infrastructures in the world, according to an announcement made by Safaricom on July 4.

Kevin Tao, Vice President of Huawei, told Xinhua News Agency that Huawei is striving for more market share in Kenya through its cooperation with Safaricom whose subscriber base has increased to 11 million.

Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the mobile phone operator has spent a total of $30 million in license fees and infrastructure development to upgrade its services. He said, "3G is the future. We need state-of-the-art products with the highest speeds."

Sole Bidder

Sinosteel Corp. is now the sole bidder vying for a takeover of the Australian iron ore prospector Midwest Corp. after Murchison Metals Ltd., an Australian miner, bowed out earlier this month.

In an announcement on July 7, Murchison said, "It's now clear that Sinosteel will not support the merger on terms which would be acceptable to Murchison."