China to merge three oil and gas giants into one company

Beijing. June 13. Silkroadnews - China is promoting a plan for merging the oil and gas assets of the three state-owned energy giants into a new company, Renmin Ribao reports.
The specific reform plan is expected to be unveiled by the winter, the publication reads. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) will provide their pipelines, allocate employees and determine the equity ratio based on the valuation of their assets.
The new company, which is supposedly to be named China Pipelines Corp, is estimated at about 500 billion yuan ($78 billion).
According to the plan, state and private funds will inject capital to reduce the stake by three oil companies to about 50%. A new company may also launch an IPO.
Reportedly, the network of gas pipelines in China is 70,000 kilometers, about 66,000 kilometers of them belong to three energy giants.
Reform aimed at increasing efficiency and competitiveness through innovation remains a priority for local authorities this year.
China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang said this year the government will reform the state capital and state enterprises, compiling lists of rights and duties of investors related to supervision and regulation, and deepen the reform of state investment companies and capital management companies.