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World Business Quick Take

■ ENERGY
China starts new oil dig
China has started drilling what it says will be Asia's deepest oil and gas well, state media said yesterday. State-owned Sinopec Corp (中國石化) plans for the Chuanke No. 1 Well in southwest Sichuan Province to reach a depth of 8,875m, more than the height of Mount Everest, Xinhua news agency reported. It will take the company, Asia's largest oil refiner, 676 days and 300 million yuan (US$39 million) to complete the project, Xinhua said. Last July, China completed drilling of the 8,408m Tashen No. 1 Well, in the Tahe oil field in the Tarim Basin -- but found no gas.

■ BANKING
CITIC Bank to go public
China CITIC Bank (中國國際信託投資), China's seventh-largest commercial bank, plans to go public at home and in Hong Kong at the end of next month, raising up to US$3 billion, state media said yesterday. The bank won approval to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange last week and is now awaiting approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to go public in China as well, Xinhua news agency reported. By listing on both stock markets, the bank aims to strengthen corporate governance in line with international practices, Xinhua said.

■ BANKING
Islamic meeting opens
Central bank governors from Iran to Saudi Arabia are to attend Malaysia's first international Islamic finance forum this week as the nation works to cement its future as an Islamic financial hub. The four-day Global Islamic Finance Forum starting today is expected to attract about 800 regulatory authorities and industry players. Malaysia's central Bank Negara, the event organizer, said it aims to highlight business opportunities as the nation ramps up efforts to draw foreign money -- Muslim and Middle Eastern funds in particular. Islamic finance fuses principles of Shariah (Islamic law) and modern banking. Funds are banned from investing in companies associated with tobacco, alcohol or gambling.

■ AVIATION
Good year forecast for HK
Hong Kong's aviation sector is set for a strong year this year as it steps up a gear to remain a leading regional air hub, the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation said yesterday. The Sydney-based consultancy said in a new report that the city was eventually expected to privatize Hong Kong International Airport. The airport operator is also likely to step up investment in nearby Chinese cities where aviation demand is growing rapidly, the report said. It also said Cathay Pacific's tie-up with China's national airline Air China has the potential to allow the two outfits to become the biggest "combined carrier" by 2017.

■ MANUFACTURING
China's textile exports grow
China's textile exports will rise more than 15 percent this year despite quotas imposed by Western trade partners, Xinhua news agency said yesterday, quoting the National Development and Reform Commission. But with the yuan strengthening and production costs rising, the expansion would be less than last year, the commission said. Profits would also rise more than 15 percent this year, the commission forecasted. Chinese firms exported US$95.2 billion worth of clothing and US$48.8 billion in textile products last year, notching up annual growth of 28.9 percent and 18.7 percent respectively.

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