KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenaga Nasional Bhd said its year to August net profit rose to RM1.11 billion from RM955.50 million a year ago on 7% higher growth in sales to RM16.46 billion and a smaller forex translation loss. (US$1=RM3.8). Electricity sales rose to 68,254.30 gigawatthours (GWH) from 63,533.60 GWH a year ago while the...

China’s CNOOC Limited has laid out its business strategy and plans for sustainable growth for the long term. “Our core and winning strategies remain unchanged. This management will continue to focus on production and reserves growth, develop and expand natural gas business and maintain financial discipline to deliver satisfactory returns to shareholders”, said CNOOC chairman...

Australian upstream company Origin Energy Resources Limited said it has begun production testing at the Jingemia Field off Western Australia state. It produced 1,700 barrels of oil within days of start-up on November 1. Origin Energy, the operator of exploration permit 413 and Jingemia 1, said that production testing has been approved through to February...

TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) – Taiwan Ratings Corp said it has assigned its “twAAA” issue rating to the upcoming NT13 billion unsecured corporate bond issue of Taiwan Power Co (Taipower). (US$1=NT33). At the same time, Taiwan Ratings affirmed its “twAAA” long-term corporate credit rating and “twA-1” short-term corporate credit rating on Taipower, with a stable outlook on...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – Shanghai Electric Power Co Ltd (SHA 600021) opened at 8.51 yuan in its trading debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, up 46.72% from its initial public offer price of 5.80 yuan per share. (US$1=8.27 yuan). The price was at the lower end of broker estimates of between 8 and 10 yuan per...

Abu Dhabi is considering setting up the largest complex for services of onshore and offshore oil fields in the Middle East, said Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan chairman of the Abu Dhabi Economic Department, according to the Gulf News. “The feasibility study for the first-ever centre of its kind in the Middle East for...

LONDON (AFX) – Near-term prospects of a western oil major taking a strategic stake in AO Yukos have receded dramatically with the arrest of the company’s CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, but a merger remains very much on the cards at some stage, analysts said. Overtures from both ExxonMobil Corp and ChevronTexaco Corp to buy up to...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Ayudhya Securities has assigned a “buy” rating on Banpu PLC ahead of its third quarter results. Ayudhya said in a report that Banpu’s expected third quarter net profit of 784 million baht will register growth of 42% quarter-on-quarter. (US$1=40 baht). The company’s net profit for the third quarter will be boosted by...

Australian upstream company Bounty Oil & Gas NL (Bounty) has agreed to farm out a further 50% interest in PEP 11, its offshore Sydney Basin permit, to UK company Electro Silica Plc in return for funding all the costs of drilling an exploration well within the permit. Electro Silica has previously committed to fund a...

Electricity of Vietnam has signed two contracts with foreign companies worth more than US$106 million for converting a power plant into a combined cycle plant and another for transmission. According to the Vietnam News, the first project, worth US$77.5 million, will focus on converting the Phu My 2.1 plant in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province...

Description: This 2003 edition composes of two parts: 1.ÊÊChina Chemical Industry This part mainly includes general status, major trades, local chemical industry, chemical capital market, research and development of science & technology, import & export trade of chemicals, and so on. Most of the data collected in the edition are figures up to the end...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – ING said it has raised its earnings estimate and target price for Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd (SHA 600688; HK 0338; NYSE SHI) after third quarter results came in above expectations. The investment bank raised its target price for Sinopec Shanghai by 15% to HK$2.75 a share from HK$2.40, and increased EPS...

Australian upstream company Woodside Energy Ltd. is about to earn its first revenue from international operations with first gas now flowing from the US$1 billion Ohanet gas and liquids stripping project in Algeria. The project, in the Illizi province of Algeria about 1,300km south east of the capital, Algiers, and 100km west of the Libyan...

Rating Agency Malaysia said it has reaffirmed the long-term structured rating of AA1(s) assigned to both Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s (TNB) RM1 billion and RM500 million Repackaged Tenaga Income Securities (Repackaged TIS). Tenaga is Malaysia’s largest power company. The 2 issues are similar in terms of structure: the RM1 billion Repackaged TIS comprises the bond principal...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857; NYSE PTR) has begun offer a 5 billion yuan issue of 10 year corporate bonds from last week, the company said in a statement in the Shanghai Securities News. (US$1=8.27 yuan). The offer for the bonds, which will carry a coupon of 4.11%, will last until November...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – The future of the proposed Russia-China oil pipeline remains tenuous, especially after the head of the Russian partner Yukos was arrested, the China Business Times reported, without citing sources. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the head of Yukos and Russia’s richest man, has been arrested on fraud and tax evasion charges, and said he would...

DAMASCUS (AFX) – Iran is ready to help Syria overcome the impact of a possible withdrawal of American oil companies if it is hit by US sanctions, an Iranian official said. US giant Exxon Mobil Corp has joint ventures with Syrian firms for the production and sale of lubricants, and three small US companies won...