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The Chinese consortium CBC, which includes battery giant CATL, and Bolivia have signed a deal deepening their cooperation in one of the world's largest lithium reserves.

The latest agreement adds to a previous deal with Bolivia's state-owned lithium company in January 2023, when CBC agreed to invest more than US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion) to start processing Bolivian lithium with the installation of two industrial direct lithium extraction plants.

The second agreement provides a further US$90 million investment and expands CBC's participation in the emerging lithium industry in Bolivia.

The country is home to the Uyuni salt flat, one of the largest lithium reserves.

An agreement was signed with India's Altmin to develop the technology of cathode materials for lithium batteries.

In other news, BP and Sinopec (0368) signed a memorandum of understanding at the World Economic Forum in Davos to strengthen cooperation in fuel sales, oil and gas trading and upstream activities.

The two firms will explore cooperation in low carbon sectors such as new energy vehicle charging.

Both Sinopec and BP have been looking to expand their share of China's EV charging market.

Chinese expand Bolivian lithium deal