Shares of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the nation's second-biggest oil producer and Asia's biggest oil refiner, rose after its parent company and Moscow-based OAO Rosneft agreed to buy a Russian affiliate of BP Plc.

 

Sinopec shares gained three days in a row, a first, on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

 

Its shares advanced 3.1 percent yesterday to HK$4.1 (51 US cents), versus a 0.3 percent increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

 

The share rise followed news that TNK-BP had reached an agreement with Sinopec Group, the parent of overseas-listed Sinopec, for the sale of the BP subsidiary's Udmurtneft assets.

 

A senior official with Sinopec Group yesterday confirmed the successful bid for a 96.86 percent stake in OAO Udmurtneft.

 

Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil firm, will buy 51 percent of Udmurtneft from Sinopec Group, the Russian company said.

 

"Through Sinopec Overseas Oil & Gas Ltd (SOOGL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopec Group focusing on overseas investment, the company participated in this tender competition," the Beijing-based refiner told China Daily.

 

TNK-BP, in which BP owns 50 percent, said on Tuesday that the transaction would be finalized "in the near future."

 

(China Daily June 22, 2006)