China has started drilling what it says will be Asia's deepest oil and gas well, according to reports. State-owned Sinopec announced plans to drill a well in Sichuan province to a depth of 8,875 metres (30,000 feet) – more than the height of Mount Everest. Named "Chuanke No. 1 Well", Sinopec said it will take RMB 300 million (US$ 39 million) and 676 days of drilling to complete the project. This is not the first time China has undertaken such a project. In July 2006, China completed drilling of the 8,408-meter Tashen No. 1 Well, in the Tahe oil field in northwest China's Tarim Basin – but discovered no gas. China has been thirsting for energy resources globally to fuel its economic boom.

Intel US$ 2.5 billion deal

US based Intel Corp. says they will build a US$2.5 billion chip factory in China. The planned 2010 opening will give Intel a strong foothold in China and help Beijing's move to attract more investment. The factory will supply chipsets to customers in China. The facility is slated for the northeastern seaside city of Dalian. The government hopes the factory will "bring more value-added research projects" to Dalian, Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice chairman of China's top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission told Chinese media. Dubbed "Fab 68", the 1.6-million-square-foot Dalian facility is being lauded as the most cost-effective wafer fabrication plant. Intel has also received government incentives to locate the factory in China, but declined to give any specifics. The expansion will build on Intel's current Shanghai and Chendgu bases, which employ 6,000 employees who make memory chips and microprocessors, among other projects.