China criticises bid blocking tactics

On Tuesday, Beijing criticized attempts by the US House of Representatives to block China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s bid for Unocal by voting to ask that the Bush administration only review the bid if Unocal agrees to accept it.

China’s foreign minister said that CNOOC’s bid for Unocal is a “normal commercial activity” and should not be interfered with politically.

Meanwhile, Chevron called on the United States government to reevaluate its policies concerning the takeover of US-owned companies by foreign investors in its continuing fight against CNOOC’s bid for Unocal.

The vice-chairman of Chevron characterized loans by the Chinese government to CNOOC as state subsidies and CNOOC’s bid a government attempt to buy a company for more than its commercial value.

CNOOC, which is getting a loan of US$7 billion from its parent company, insists that the loans are not subsidized by the Chinese government.

Chevron’s position is that the loans amount to government subsidies because CNOOC is a state-owned company and because the loans are low- or no-interest in nature.

Meanwhile, Chevron again insisted that it’s offer for Unocal is superior to CNOOC’s bid and that it expects that it will win a stockholder vote on August 10.