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

CNPC wins most contracts in Iraq auction-- China Business News

A consortium led by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's largest oil and gas producer, together with Petronas and France's Total, has won the rights to develop Halfaya oilfield in southern Iraq.

The consortium proposed a fee of US$1.4 per barrel to develop the oilfield. CNPC has a 50 percent controlling stake in the Halfaya project. CNPC now has three projects from the two auctions making it the biggest winner among bidding companies.

Iraq offered one third of the country's reserves in the two-day auction in Iraq which attracted 44 oil companies including BP, Chevron, Total and Shell.

Edible oil price rises again, rattling consumers—CCTV.com

A sharp increase in oil prices recently has caused anxiety for consumers who worry a higher price will lead to an increased living cost.

Zhou Guanhua, an official of the State Administration of Grain shed some light on the price rise: "China's heavy dependence on soy bean imports has made it lose voices to foreign countries in setting price."

Bad weather has decimated soybean crops this year but Li Guoxiang, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said a 6-15% rise in oil price is still too dramatic to be reasonable.

Currently foreign companies such as ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus, dominate food processing and trading worldwide.

Domestic dairy industry turns to quick boost—National Business Daily

The domestic dairy industry has recovered unexpectedly quickly from last year's milk scandal.

Wang Dingmian, director of Diary Association of China, said the recovery led by industrial giants such as Yili and Mengniu comes six months to one year earlier than expected, mainly because of the support from governmental policies.

Driven by the industrial recovery, ingredient suppliers for dairy companies have also seen a surge in production and price.

Gold Sachs further reduces stake in Shuanghui—Oriental Moring Post

The news that Gold Sachs further reduced their stake in Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co. Ltd, was confirmed by an announcement made by the latter yesterday evening.

Shuanghui Investment & Development is a listed arm of China's largest meat processor Shuanghui Group.

According to the announcement, Gold Sachs has gradually reduced its holdings from 31 percent in October, 2007 to 7.72 percent.

The announcement has led to speculation that the stake reduction is either a result of a would-be full listing sought by Shuanghui Group or a management buyout by the already listed company. Others think that Gold Sachs wants to capitalize on the trading to ease its cash squeeze.