Strait Times: China's Oil, Gas Giants 'Planning Sale of Assets'

PetroChina and its state-owned parent are planning to sell assets before the end of the year that may include stakes in pipelines and refineries as the country's biggest oil and gas producers seek to shore up their balance sheets, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

PetroChina and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) may announce the stake sales as early as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified.

CNPC is seeking to use proceeds from the sale to meet annual income growth targets set by China's state asset regulators, the sources said.

The sale would be the first major divestment by either company since PetroChina sold a 20 billion yuan (S$4.4 billion) pipeline stake to institutional investors in 2013.

"Many investors would prefer they cash in on some assets rather than running the assets themselves," Mr Laban Yu, head of Asia oil and gas equities at Jefferies Group in Hong Kong, said by phone.

"Investors have given almost zero valuation to PetroChina's assets such as pipelines. Any asset sales right now are good news for the company and could help its share price." MORE