IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Testing times ahead for Italy

Italy's ability to tackle its high debt amid low economic growth "will be tested," Moody's Investors Service said.

Italy is struggling to shake off a recession that saw the economy contract 5.1 percent last year, the most in at least three decades. Debt will rise this year to 117 percent of gross domestic product, the second-highest in the EU, after Greece, according to European Union forecasts.

"The government faces some challenges in growing out of its high public-debt levels given the current context of low economic growth," Alexander Kockerbeck, a Moody's analyst, said in a report released on Wednesday. "Italy has a proven track record in managing."

PBOC's loose stance to stay

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Wednesday reaffirmed its loose monetary stance but said it would implement the policy flexibly. In a statement released a day after the quarterly meeting of its monetary policy committee, the central bank vowed to prevent financial risks.

Cnooc misses profit estimate

Cnooc Ltd, China's biggest offshore energy explorer, reported full-year profit that missed analysts' estimates as oil prices slumped from a record.

Net income fell 34 percent to 29.5 billion yuan ($4.3 billion), or 0.66 yuan a share, from a record 44.4 billion yuan, or 0.99 yuan a share, a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said on Wednesday. That's worse than a median estimate of 30.55 billion yuan in a survey of 15 analysts compiled by Bloomberg News.

Longyuan eyes solar projects

Wind power producer China Longyuan Power Group Corp is developing solar projects to meet rising demand for clean energy.

The projects in seven provinces, regions and cities including Beijing and Tibet may increase the company's capacity by 1,740 megawatts, or 26 percent, Longyuan said on Wednesday.

Guangzhou to host SME fair

The 7th China International Small and Medium Enterprise Fair will be held from Sept 15 to 18 in Guangzhou, involving more than 4,000 exhibitors from across the world.

As the co-host of this year's event, Australia will bring companies from sectors including food and beverage, wine, financial and business services, education and corporate training, clean energy, green building, sports and leisure and consumer goods.

Bharti buys Zain African assets

Billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel Ltd agreed to buy the African assets of Zain, Kuwait's largest phone operator, for $9 billion in cash in the second-biggest overseas acquisition by an Indian company.

In its third attempt to expand in Africa through an acquisition, New Delhi-based Bharti, India's biggest wireless company, said it entered into a legally binding agreement to buy Zain's African mobile assets. Bharti will assume $1.7 billion of Zain's debt as part of the deal.

Greece plans to sell dollar bond

Greece plans to sell a global bond in dollars in the next two months to help raise 11.6 billion euros ($15.6 billion) in funding requirements by the end of May after investors lost money on its most recent sale.

Greece needs to borrow a total of 32 billion euros this year, Petros Christodoulou, director general of the Public Debt Management Agency, said on Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview. He declined to say how big the dollar issue might be.

Bloomberg News-China Daily

(China Daily 04/01/2010 page14)