"Reliability issues mar satellite industry" from South China Morning Post

"China had just successfully launched its second lunar probe, the Chang'e-2, which is orbiting the moon, and only days later the space community celebrated the launch of the sixth satellite of an eventual 35 that will form a home-grown satellite navigation and positioning network aimed at rivalling the US-made Global positioning System.

It seems a good time for the Chinese space industry."

"So, not only is China offering satellites at a cheaper price than their Western rivals, it is also offering countries the loans they need to cover almost the entire cost of the projects.

When the deal to manufacture and launch Pakistan's first communication satellite was announced in August 2008, with a projected cost of US$212 million, news also broke that the two countries had simultaneously signed a deal for a US$200 million construction loan. Likewise, when the Bolivian deal was announced in April this year, media around the world reported that a Chinese loan would cover 85 per cent of the US$300 million project's costs, with the rest of the funding to be provided by the Bolivian government."