Somewhat confusingly, given Sina's announcement, Beijing on Wednesday announced that domestic Internet content providers would be banned from listing overseas before the country enters the World Trade Organization (WTO). The announcement was published in the Chinese Securities News newspaper. Information Industry Minister Wu Jichuan Tuesday told a seminar that the domestic business and assets of Chinese Internet content providers must be 'stripped off' before Chinese web firms can list abroad, the paper said.

In another announcement, Minister Wu was more upbeat on the Internet. He told a conference in Beijing that his agency intends to "rejuvenate" the digital electronics sector and do more to promote communications and software businesses, the official China Daily reported Wednesday. China will bring industries, government offices and households online as part of a national strategy to make the Internet a more powerful engine for economic growth, Wu said.

A fascinating article in the Far Eastern Economic Review detailing how the Chinese government greased the wheels on the deal cut by Pacific Century Cyberworks to buy Cable & Wireless HKT, the largest telecommunications company in Hong Kong. The article was based on an interview with one of Pacific Century's top executives, Francis Yuen.