Asia’s Richest Man Takes 66% Pay Cut in India Austerity Drive
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By John Chacko and Natalie Obiko Pearson
Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, took a 66 percent pay cut to “set a personal example of moderation” after India’s government called for austerity in salaries of executives.
Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., will take home 150 million rupees ($3.3 million) in salary and a share of profit for the year ended March 31, compared with 440.2 million rupees a year earlier, the company said in a statement in Mumbai today. Reliance’s net income fell 22 percent to 152.9 billion rupees in the year ended March 31.
The 52-year-old Ambani’s move preempts any government attempt to enforce rules regarding pay. Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid this month asked companies to refrain from paying “vulgar” salaries to their chief executives, according to Press Trust of India. Leaders from the Group of 20 nations last month said they plan to take steps to curb pay of bankers whose risk-taking triggered a global recession.
“This is a gesture to show shareholders that the company is thinking about them,” said Asish Bhattacharyya, coordinator of the Centre for Corporate Governance at the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata. “You are also appeasing the government and signaling to the market that you care about costs.”
The salary component of Ambani’s total pay increased 25 percent to 15.9 million rupees, according to today’s statement.
India’s per capita gross domestic product rose to a record $724 last year, according to the World Bank.
Billionaire Brothers
Reliance Industries’ plan to pay shareholders dividend of 13 rupees a share means the Ambani family, which owns a 49 percent stake in India’s most valuable company, will get about 10 billion rupees, or 3.3 percent more payout than last year, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Mukesh’s estranged younger brother Anil Ambani on Sept. 22 said he will forego salary and commission from five of his group companies. Anil’s annual salary is about 300 million rupees, according to the Economic Times.
The Ambani brothers, India’s richest resident billionaires, split the business founded by their father Dhirubhai Ambani, in 2005.
Reliance Industries lowered the commission payable to Mukesh in accordance with limits set by shareholders, according to the statement. The Mumbai-based Reliance will also set the salaries of executives using a “capped structure method” instead of basing them on earnings, the company said.
Mukesh Ambani, a chemical engineer from the University of Bombay, is ranked seventh on Forbes’ 2009 ranking of the world’s billionaires with a net worth of $19.5 billion.
To contact the reporter on this story: John Chacko in New Delhi at jchacko@bloomberg.net; Natalie Obiko Pearson in Mumbai at npearson7@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 15, 2009 10:09 EDT
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Nice Apt!
Hong Kong apartment sells for whopping $57 million
Buzz up! Send
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Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Twitter Yahoo! Bookmarks Print AP – A luxurious residential building named � Conduit Road 39 ' is seen from the Peak in Hong Kong Wednesday, … By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP Business Writer Jeremiah Marquez, Ap Business Writer – Wed Oct 14, 9:41 am ET
HONG KONG – It's a price tag that would make even New Yorkers and Londoners gasp — an outsized luxury apartment sold for nearly $57 million in Hong Kong Wednesday amid growing fears of a real estate bubble.
The five-bedroom duplex suite with as much as 6,158 square feet was sold to an unidentified buyer from mainland China, said the developer, Henderson Land Development, a major Hong Kong property company. It is believed to be Asia's most expensive property by square foot at nearly $9,200.
Aside from an aroma spa center, fitness room, outdoor yoga gym and grand harbor views, the new homeowner will enjoy an exclusive address in the hills of Hong Kong's main island — "a majestic realm for the city who's who," according to a statement from the developer.
The deal comes at a time when ever-higher prices of Hong Kong real estate, benefiting from mainland China's booming market and easy money sloshing through the world financial system, are inspiring worries of a bubble in the making. Several blockbuster deals in the tens of millions of dollars have made headlines of late.
Hong Kong's leader, Donald Tsang, said Wednesday in his annual policy address that the government may free up more land for development to help add supply and bring down prices.
"The relatively small number of residential units completed and the record prices attained in certain transactions this year have caused concern about the supply of flats, difficulty in purchasing a home, and the possibility of a property bubble," Tsang told lawmakers.
The city has long had one of the world's most expensive property markets, with prices that many local residents are hard pressed to afford. About 47 percent of Hong Kong lives in publicly subsidized housing, according to government data.
At 39 Conduit Road, the name and site of the building where the high-end apartment was purchased, another unit was snapped up for a mere $51 million.
The building "offers a chance to allow the elites in town to enjoy such prestigious property," said Thomas Lam, Henderson's sales general manager.
Buzz up! Send
Email IM Share
Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Twitter Yahoo! Bookmarks Print AP – A luxurious residential building named � Conduit Road 39 ' is seen from the Peak in Hong Kong Wednesday, … By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP Business Writer Jeremiah Marquez, Ap Business Writer – Wed Oct 14, 9:41 am ET
HONG KONG – It's a price tag that would make even New Yorkers and Londoners gasp — an outsized luxury apartment sold for nearly $57 million in Hong Kong Wednesday amid growing fears of a real estate bubble.
The five-bedroom duplex suite with as much as 6,158 square feet was sold to an unidentified buyer from mainland China, said the developer, Henderson Land Development, a major Hong Kong property company. It is believed to be Asia's most expensive property by square foot at nearly $9,200.
Aside from an aroma spa center, fitness room, outdoor yoga gym and grand harbor views, the new homeowner will enjoy an exclusive address in the hills of Hong Kong's main island — "a majestic realm for the city who's who," according to a statement from the developer.
The deal comes at a time when ever-higher prices of Hong Kong real estate, benefiting from mainland China's booming market and easy money sloshing through the world financial system, are inspiring worries of a bubble in the making. Several blockbuster deals in the tens of millions of dollars have made headlines of late.
Hong Kong's leader, Donald Tsang, said Wednesday in his annual policy address that the government may free up more land for development to help add supply and bring down prices.
"The relatively small number of residential units completed and the record prices attained in certain transactions this year have caused concern about the supply of flats, difficulty in purchasing a home, and the possibility of a property bubble," Tsang told lawmakers.
The city has long had one of the world's most expensive property markets, with prices that many local residents are hard pressed to afford. About 47 percent of Hong Kong lives in publicly subsidized housing, according to government data.
At 39 Conduit Road, the name and site of the building where the high-end apartment was purchased, another unit was snapped up for a mere $51 million.
The building "offers a chance to allow the elites in town to enjoy such prestigious property," said Thomas Lam, Henderson's sales general manager.
Brazil has mucho oil now!
OGX May Have Found 1.5 Billion Barrels Oil in Brazil (Update2)
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By Lucia Kassai
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA, the oil company controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, said it may have discovered as much as 1.5 billion barrels of oil in an offshore block after drilling off Brazil’s southeastern coast.
The BM-C-43 block, located in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin, may hold between 500 million and 1.5 billion barrels, based on well information and seismic data, Rio de Janeiro-based OGX said today in a regulatory filling. The company owns all of the block, according to its Web site.
OGX raised 5.87 billion reais ($3.43 billion) in its June 2008 initial public offering as investors bet Batista could match Brazil’s state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s success at finding oil. Batista, who owns about 62 percent of OGX, is ploughing about $4 billion into crude exploration and production, with first oil output expected by late 2011.
The company earlier this month also said it found signs of crude in the BM-S-29 block, in the Santos Basin off the coast of Sao Paulo state. The company estimates it holds a total 4.8 billion barrels of oil and gas and plans to spend $2 billion during the next three years drilling about 50 wells, Chief Financial Officer Marcelo Faber Torres said Oct. 2.
OGX holds 22 exploratory blocks in Brazil’s Campos, Santos, Espirito Santo and Para-Maranhao basins with an offshore exploration area of 7,000 square kilometers.
Brazilian Reserves
Brazil’s proven crude reserves totaled 12.6 billion barrels last year, according to London-based BP Plc. The country’s so- called pre-salt oil region, including the biggest oil discovery in the Americas since 1976, may hold as many as 100 billion barrels, Brazilian Cabinet Chief Dilma Rousseff said Sept. 29.
OGX fell 58 reais, or 3.6 percent, to 1,565 reais at 11:36 a.m. in Sao Paulo. The shares have almost tripled this year.
The oil producer also said it will start drilling at the BM-C-41 block, also in the Campos Basin, later this month.
To contact the reporters responsible for this story: Lucia Kassai at lkassai@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 14, 2009 10:57 EDT
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By Lucia Kassai
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA, the oil company controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, said it may have discovered as much as 1.5 billion barrels of oil in an offshore block after drilling off Brazil’s southeastern coast.
The BM-C-43 block, located in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin, may hold between 500 million and 1.5 billion barrels, based on well information and seismic data, Rio de Janeiro-based OGX said today in a regulatory filling. The company owns all of the block, according to its Web site.
OGX raised 5.87 billion reais ($3.43 billion) in its June 2008 initial public offering as investors bet Batista could match Brazil’s state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s success at finding oil. Batista, who owns about 62 percent of OGX, is ploughing about $4 billion into crude exploration and production, with first oil output expected by late 2011.
The company earlier this month also said it found signs of crude in the BM-S-29 block, in the Santos Basin off the coast of Sao Paulo state. The company estimates it holds a total 4.8 billion barrels of oil and gas and plans to spend $2 billion during the next three years drilling about 50 wells, Chief Financial Officer Marcelo Faber Torres said Oct. 2.
OGX holds 22 exploratory blocks in Brazil’s Campos, Santos, Espirito Santo and Para-Maranhao basins with an offshore exploration area of 7,000 square kilometers.
Brazilian Reserves
Brazil’s proven crude reserves totaled 12.6 billion barrels last year, according to London-based BP Plc. The country’s so- called pre-salt oil region, including the biggest oil discovery in the Americas since 1976, may hold as many as 100 billion barrels, Brazilian Cabinet Chief Dilma Rousseff said Sept. 29.
OGX fell 58 reais, or 3.6 percent, to 1,565 reais at 11:36 a.m. in Sao Paulo. The shares have almost tripled this year.
The oil producer also said it will start drilling at the BM-C-41 block, also in the Campos Basin, later this month.
To contact the reporters responsible for this story: Lucia Kassai at lkassai@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 14, 2009 10:57 EDT
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Gold is at an all time high today!
Sinopec’s Oil Refining Profit Falls on Crude Costs (Update1)
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By Bloomberg News
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.’s profit from turning crude into fuels fell in the third quarter because of higher oil costs, an official familiar with operations at Asia’s biggest refiner said.
Margins were narrower between July and September, compared with the first six months, the official who declined to be named because the information is confidential, said in an interview in Beijing. Increased sales volume wasn’t enough to offset higher crude costs and the company’s refining business probably broke even in the quarter, he said.
China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, raised the price of gasoline and diesel three times between January and June compared with once in the third quarter. Crude oil in New York averaged about $68 a barrel in the last three months, representing a 32 percent increase from the first half.
“Domestic fuel price adjustments have lagged behind crude gains, which hurt the state oil refiner’s refining profit,” Grace Liu, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Ltd., said by telephone from the southern city of Shenzhen. “We expect the company’s processing margin to drop to $5.40 per barrel in the second half from $8.60 per barrel in the first six months.”
Chen Ge, the board secretary at the Beijing-based company also known as Sinopec, wasn’t available to comment.
Fuel Price Caps
Sinopec has gained 45 percent this year in Hong Kong trading, compared with the 49 percent increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. The shares climbed 1.6 percent to HK$6.93 at 10:13 a.m. while rival PetroChina Co. gained 3.7 percent to HK$9.82. The Hang Seng was up 1 percent.
The refiner posted a record second-quarter profit of 22 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) and forecast a more-than-50 percent gain in nine-month earnings after the government eased curbs on fuel prices.
China raised fuel prices four times and cut them three times this year, compared with two adjustments in 2008, under a system introduced in December that keeps oil-product prices in line with global crude costs and ensures refiners a profit. The policy shift helped Sinopec end at least four years of refining losses.
First-half operating profit for the refining business was almost 20 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 74.7 billion yuan for the same period of last year, the company said in August, citing domestic accounting standards.
Smaller refining profits at Sinopec contrast with improving margins in Singapore, Asia’s biggest oil-trading center. The profit from turning Dubai crude oil into fuels at Singapore refineries were at minus 29 cents as barrel on Sept. 30, compared with minus $2.04 on June 26, when they were at the lowest this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Crude Oil
Sinopec forecasts crude oil to stay between $60 and $80 a barrel this year for budgeting purposes, the official said, without giving details. Crude oil averaged about $71.35 a barrel this month.
The official said separately that Africa is one of the areas targeted by Sinopec’s parent, China Petrochemical Corp., in its quest for overseas acquisitions. China Petrochemical will pursue at least a 12 percent rate of return on investments in overseas acquisitions, he said.
Chinese energy companies have spent at least $13 billion on overseas assets since December as they take advantage of lower valuations caused by the global recession to meet energy demand in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Addax Petroleum
China Petrochemical acquired Swiss-based Addax Petroleum Corp. this year for C$8.3 billion ($8 billion), adding oil reserves in Iraq and West Africa.
Sinopec has set up a unit to review overseas acquisition opportunities, including assets in Angola, Russia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Australia owned by China Petrochemical Corp., Chairman Su Shulin said in August.
Sinopec will focus on upgrading and expanding its existing refineries in its plan to increase processing capacity rather than build new plants, the official said.
Sinopec aims to increase oil processing volume to 202 million tons in 2011 from 168.8 million tons in 2008, the company said in its three-year plan announced in August. Fuel sales will rise 10 percent to 135 million tons by then from 123 million tons, it said then.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net Last Updated: October 13, 2009 22:25 EDT
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By Bloomberg News
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.’s profit from turning crude into fuels fell in the third quarter because of higher oil costs, an official familiar with operations at Asia’s biggest refiner said.
Margins were narrower between July and September, compared with the first six months, the official who declined to be named because the information is confidential, said in an interview in Beijing. Increased sales volume wasn’t enough to offset higher crude costs and the company’s refining business probably broke even in the quarter, he said.
China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, raised the price of gasoline and diesel three times between January and June compared with once in the third quarter. Crude oil in New York averaged about $68 a barrel in the last three months, representing a 32 percent increase from the first half.
“Domestic fuel price adjustments have lagged behind crude gains, which hurt the state oil refiner’s refining profit,” Grace Liu, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Ltd., said by telephone from the southern city of Shenzhen. “We expect the company’s processing margin to drop to $5.40 per barrel in the second half from $8.60 per barrel in the first six months.”
Chen Ge, the board secretary at the Beijing-based company also known as Sinopec, wasn’t available to comment.
Fuel Price Caps
Sinopec has gained 45 percent this year in Hong Kong trading, compared with the 49 percent increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. The shares climbed 1.6 percent to HK$6.93 at 10:13 a.m. while rival PetroChina Co. gained 3.7 percent to HK$9.82. The Hang Seng was up 1 percent.
The refiner posted a record second-quarter profit of 22 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) and forecast a more-than-50 percent gain in nine-month earnings after the government eased curbs on fuel prices.
China raised fuel prices four times and cut them three times this year, compared with two adjustments in 2008, under a system introduced in December that keeps oil-product prices in line with global crude costs and ensures refiners a profit. The policy shift helped Sinopec end at least four years of refining losses.
First-half operating profit for the refining business was almost 20 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 74.7 billion yuan for the same period of last year, the company said in August, citing domestic accounting standards.
Smaller refining profits at Sinopec contrast with improving margins in Singapore, Asia’s biggest oil-trading center. The profit from turning Dubai crude oil into fuels at Singapore refineries were at minus 29 cents as barrel on Sept. 30, compared with minus $2.04 on June 26, when they were at the lowest this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Crude Oil
Sinopec forecasts crude oil to stay between $60 and $80 a barrel this year for budgeting purposes, the official said, without giving details. Crude oil averaged about $71.35 a barrel this month.
The official said separately that Africa is one of the areas targeted by Sinopec’s parent, China Petrochemical Corp., in its quest for overseas acquisitions. China Petrochemical will pursue at least a 12 percent rate of return on investments in overseas acquisitions, he said.
Chinese energy companies have spent at least $13 billion on overseas assets since December as they take advantage of lower valuations caused by the global recession to meet energy demand in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Addax Petroleum
China Petrochemical acquired Swiss-based Addax Petroleum Corp. this year for C$8.3 billion ($8 billion), adding oil reserves in Iraq and West Africa.
Sinopec has set up a unit to review overseas acquisition opportunities, including assets in Angola, Russia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Australia owned by China Petrochemical Corp., Chairman Su Shulin said in August.
Sinopec will focus on upgrading and expanding its existing refineries in its plan to increase processing capacity rather than build new plants, the official said.
Sinopec aims to increase oil processing volume to 202 million tons in 2011 from 168.8 million tons in 2008, the company said in its three-year plan announced in August. Fuel sales will rise 10 percent to 135 million tons by then from 123 million tons, it said then.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net Last Updated: October 13, 2009 22:25 EDT
Sinopec China's Oil Giant
Sinopec’s Oil Refining Profit Falls on Crude Costs (Update1)
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By Bloomberg News
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.’s profit from turning crude into fuels fell in the third quarter because of higher oil costs, an official familiar with operations at Asia’s biggest refiner said.
Margins were narrower between July and September, compared with the first six months, the official who declined to be named because the information is confidential, said in an interview in Beijing. Increased sales volume wasn’t enough to offset higher crude costs and the company’s refining business probably broke even in the quarter, he said.
China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, raised the price of gasoline and diesel three times between January and June compared with once in the third quarter. Crude oil in New York averaged about $68 a barrel in the last three months, representing a 32 percent increase from the first half.
“Domestic fuel price adjustments have lagged behind crude gains, which hurt the state oil refiner’s refining profit,” Grace Liu, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Ltd., said by telephone from the southern city of Shenzhen. “We expect the company’s processing margin to drop to $5.40 per barrel in the second half from $8.60 per barrel in the first six months.”
Chen Ge, the board secretary at the Beijing-based company also known as Sinopec, wasn’t available to comment.
Fuel Price Caps
Sinopec has gained 45 percent this year in Hong Kong trading, compared with the 49 percent increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. The shares climbed 1.6 percent to HK$6.93 at 10:13 a.m. while rival PetroChina Co. gained 3.7 percent to HK$9.82. The Hang Seng was up 1 percent.
The refiner posted a record second-quarter profit of 22 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) and forecast a more-than-50 percent gain in nine-month earnings after the government eased curbs on fuel prices.
China raised fuel prices four times and cut them three times this year, compared with two adjustments in 2008, under a system introduced in December that keeps oil-product prices in line with global crude costs and ensures refiners a profit. The policy shift helped Sinopec end at least four years of refining losses.
First-half operating profit for the refining business was almost 20 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 74.7 billion yuan for the same period of last year, the company said in August, citing domestic accounting standards.
Smaller refining profits at Sinopec contrast with improving margins in Singapore, Asia’s biggest oil-trading center. The profit from turning Dubai crude oil into fuels at Singapore refineries were at minus 29 cents as barrel on Sept. 30, compared with minus $2.04 on June 26, when they were at the lowest this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Crude Oil
Sinopec forecasts crude oil to stay between $60 and $80 a barrel this year for budgeting purposes, the official said, without giving details. Crude oil averaged about $71.35 a barrel this month.
The official said separately that Africa is one of the areas targeted by Sinopec’s parent, China Petrochemical Corp., in its quest for overseas acquisitions. China Petrochemical will pursue at least a 12 percent rate of return on investments in overseas acquisitions, he said.
Chinese energy companies have spent at least $13 billion on overseas assets since December as they take advantage of lower valuations caused by the global recession to meet energy demand in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Addax Petroleum
China Petrochemical acquired Swiss-based Addax Petroleum Corp. this year for C$8.3 billion ($8 billion), adding oil reserves in Iraq and West Africa.
Sinopec has set up a unit to review overseas acquisition opportunities, including assets in Angola, Russia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Australia owned by China Petrochemical Corp., Chairman Su Shulin said in August.
Sinopec will focus on upgrading and expanding its existing refineries in its plan to increase processing capacity rather than build new plants, the official said.
Sinopec aims to increase oil processing volume to 202 million tons in 2011 from 168.8 million tons in 2008, the company said in its three-year plan announced in August. Fuel sales will rise 10 percent to 135 million tons by then from 123 million tons, it said then.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net Last Updated: October 13, 2009 22:25 EDT
Share Email Print A A A
By Bloomberg News
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.’s profit from turning crude into fuels fell in the third quarter because of higher oil costs, an official familiar with operations at Asia’s biggest refiner said.
Margins were narrower between July and September, compared with the first six months, the official who declined to be named because the information is confidential, said in an interview in Beijing. Increased sales volume wasn’t enough to offset higher crude costs and the company’s refining business probably broke even in the quarter, he said.
China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, raised the price of gasoline and diesel three times between January and June compared with once in the third quarter. Crude oil in New York averaged about $68 a barrel in the last three months, representing a 32 percent increase from the first half.
“Domestic fuel price adjustments have lagged behind crude gains, which hurt the state oil refiner’s refining profit,” Grace Liu, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities Ltd., said by telephone from the southern city of Shenzhen. “We expect the company’s processing margin to drop to $5.40 per barrel in the second half from $8.60 per barrel in the first six months.”
Chen Ge, the board secretary at the Beijing-based company also known as Sinopec, wasn’t available to comment.
Fuel Price Caps
Sinopec has gained 45 percent this year in Hong Kong trading, compared with the 49 percent increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. The shares climbed 1.6 percent to HK$6.93 at 10:13 a.m. while rival PetroChina Co. gained 3.7 percent to HK$9.82. The Hang Seng was up 1 percent.
The refiner posted a record second-quarter profit of 22 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) and forecast a more-than-50 percent gain in nine-month earnings after the government eased curbs on fuel prices.
China raised fuel prices four times and cut them three times this year, compared with two adjustments in 2008, under a system introduced in December that keeps oil-product prices in line with global crude costs and ensures refiners a profit. The policy shift helped Sinopec end at least four years of refining losses.
First-half operating profit for the refining business was almost 20 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 74.7 billion yuan for the same period of last year, the company said in August, citing domestic accounting standards.
Smaller refining profits at Sinopec contrast with improving margins in Singapore, Asia’s biggest oil-trading center. The profit from turning Dubai crude oil into fuels at Singapore refineries were at minus 29 cents as barrel on Sept. 30, compared with minus $2.04 on June 26, when they were at the lowest this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Crude Oil
Sinopec forecasts crude oil to stay between $60 and $80 a barrel this year for budgeting purposes, the official said, without giving details. Crude oil averaged about $71.35 a barrel this month.
The official said separately that Africa is one of the areas targeted by Sinopec’s parent, China Petrochemical Corp., in its quest for overseas acquisitions. China Petrochemical will pursue at least a 12 percent rate of return on investments in overseas acquisitions, he said.
Chinese energy companies have spent at least $13 billion on overseas assets since December as they take advantage of lower valuations caused by the global recession to meet energy demand in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Addax Petroleum
China Petrochemical acquired Swiss-based Addax Petroleum Corp. this year for C$8.3 billion ($8 billion), adding oil reserves in Iraq and West Africa.
Sinopec has set up a unit to review overseas acquisition opportunities, including assets in Angola, Russia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Australia owned by China Petrochemical Corp., Chairman Su Shulin said in August.
Sinopec will focus on upgrading and expanding its existing refineries in its plan to increase processing capacity rather than build new plants, the official said.
Sinopec aims to increase oil processing volume to 202 million tons in 2011 from 168.8 million tons in 2008, the company said in its three-year plan announced in August. Fuel sales will rise 10 percent to 135 million tons by then from 123 million tons, it said then.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net Last Updated: October 13, 2009 22:25 EDT
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