Rosneft deal gets Chinese green light

BEIJING, September 27, 2017 – A top Chinese regulatory body has approved CEFC China Energy Company’s acquisition of a 14.16% stake in Russia’s Rosneft for USD 9.1 billion, international media reported on Wednesday.

“It’s a preliminary approval from the [National Development and Reform Commission], which means the government gave the principal go-ahead for the deal,” an anonymous industry source told Reuters.

The deal, in which CEFC agreed to purchase the shares from Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority, was announced September 8. In the eyes of most analysts, it signals deepening energy co-operation between Russia and China, flying in the face of European and North American sanctions on the Russian oil giant, imposed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

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