China's business press carried the following stories on Thursday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Sinopec has no plan to buy bankrupt chemical giant — Caijing

Huang Wensheng, a spokesman of Chinese oil company Sinopec, refuted a report on Wednesday that claimed the company made a takeover offer for the world's third largest chemical company, LyondellBasell Industries, which has gone bankrupt.

Huang said Sinopec will concentrate on its own business.

An earlier foreign report wrote that Sinopec would team up with American private equity firm TPG to make a rival bid for the difficult chemical giant based in the Netherlands, in competition with Reliance Industries' US$12 billion offer.

Reliance Industries is the largest private company in India.

Shanda buys Ku6 out — Oriental Morning Post

A report one week earlier said that Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a leading Chinese technology company, planned a US$44 million buyout of Ku6.com, a domestic video website. The cash and share swap offer was made by Shanda's Nasdaq-listed arm Hurrayi Solution.

In June, Shanda bought a 51 percent stake in Hurrayi Solution, a wireless service provider, for US$42.6 million at a 25 percent premium. Following that, Shanda diverted music and entertainment business into Hurrayi Solution and began looking for other potential acquisitions.

Carlyle to profit from insurer's listing — 21st century Business Herald

China Pacific Insurance, a listed company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, made a substantial step in issuing 1 billion shares in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, giving its strategic investor, Carlyle Group, a good opportunity to cash out its investment through the stock market.

Estimated at the offer price, or 23.58 yuan a share, China Pacific Insurance will be able to raise more than 21.2 billion yuan (US$3 billion).

The insurer's Hong Kong IPO is seen as a fulfillment of its promise to Carlyle Group that Carlyle can exit its holdings after it is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Soybean oil price on the rise — China Business News

Statistics provided by oil manufacturers in northeastern China show that crude soybean oil price at the factory gate rose dramatically by 400 yuan (US$58) in the past half of this month.

Drops in soybean imports, together with a possible higher purchase price for national soybean reserves and rising seasonal demand, will continue to send the price higher in the next few months.