August 16 –China Unicom (600050, 0762.HK) executives flew to the US for talks with Apple regarding the iPhone, reports yicai.com, citing reliable source.

Foreign media claim that Apple is likely to roll out the iPhone 5 on September 7 and will also introduce cheaper versions of the iCloud service.

The source said the trip might be for signing a final contract to introduce the iPhone 5 in China. China Telecom (0728.HK) will likely launch a CDMA-version iPhone 5 in November this year, and the telecom giant has reportedly set aside 1.5 billion yuan for marketing, according to a company insider.

China Unicom lost 1.91 billion yuan from its telecommunications products, 1.9 billion of which were made in 3G firms, the source said.

Apple requires Chinese telecom operators offer a discount that is higher than that of other terminals. Some investment bank insiders concluded that the total value of rebates for iPhones in China is roughly 1.3 billion yuan.