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

Pension fund keen on stock futures index—National Business News

China's National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will consider investing in the stock index futures through its fund managers, when the new instruments are launched on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on April 16, Dai Xianglong, head of the pension fund, said on Monday.

On April 9, a government audit that had lasted two years found that more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.47 billion) had been misappropriated from the nation's social security fund, raising public concerns about the safety of the fund.

Sinopec spends US$4.65 billion on 9% stake in Syncrude—Sina.com.cn

ConocoPhillips, the third largest US oil company, announced Monday it has agreed to sell its 9.03 percent stake in Canadian oil project Syncrude to China's second-largest oil company Sinopec for US$4.65 billion.

In 2009, Conoco announced it was planning to sell its US$10 billion worth of assets over the next two years to pay off debts.

"This is an important part of the divesture plan unveiled last October. We are pleased that Sinopec has recognized the value of this quality asset," said Jim Mulva, Conoco's chairman and CEO.

The deal is expected to be finalized in Q3 this year and is subject to approval from Canadian and Chinese governments.

Unicom to buy back 2.356 billion shares in stock—China Business News

China Unicom (00762.HK), one of China's largest mobile carriers, said today that it plans to buy back 2.356 billion shares, around 10 percent of its issued stock.

According to the proposal, the buyback will go ahead on condition that it does not affect the company's working capital and balance sheet.

Korean SK Telecom sold its 899.7 million China Unicom shares back to China Unicom for approximately HK$10 billion, on November 5, 2009.

Shares of China Unicom dropped 0.32 percent to HK$6.24 at press time.