1.   He said that many people had registered to bid more than seven-figure sums, and a few had proved able to bid into eight figures.

2.   The Venezuelan government said last week that seven groups, including one lead by CSN, registered to bid for the state steel company, known as Sidor.

3.   Venezuela extended the deadline for companies to register to bid on new cellular telephone concessions while it decides how many to offer.

4.   Five groups have registered to bid for the Northeast line, the next on the auction block and one of the most attractive, he said.

5.   Six consortiums registered to bid on a package of airports in southeast Mexico that the government is privatizing, an official said Tuesday.