PetroChina shares rose 1.6 percent yesterday in a lukewarm Hong Kong market on news of its parent company's agreed takeover of Canadian-registered PetroKazakhstan for US$4.18 billion on Monday, industry analysts said.

Shares of the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of the nation's largest oil producer China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) yesterday closed at HK$6.40 (82 US cents) on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Stocks yesterday slid 1.6 percent in Hong Kong, reaching their lowest level this month with bellwether stock Hutchison slipping on a growing perception that the firm would post weak earnings later this week.

"Among the few large-cap gainers, PetroChina's share rise was largely due to investor confidence since the oil and gas assets in the Central Asian country are expected to be injected into PetroChina," Laurence Lau, senior analyst with Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, yesterday told China Daily in a telephone interview.

Han Xuegong, a senior CNPC analyst, yesterday confirmed the parent company's plan to transfer PetroKazakhstan assets to PetroChina through its newly formed venture with CNPC, Newco.

PetroChina shareholders last week agreed to pay 20.7 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) for a half stake of CNPC's venture which sits on gas and oil assets in 10 countries worldwide.

Taking over PetroKazakhstan will, in the long term, enhance PetroChina's global presence, and further drive up the company's stock, said Liu Gu, a senior analyst with Guotai Jun'an Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Due to soaring crude prices, Liu forecasts, PetroChina's second-half results will show strong growth although the country's managed refined-oil prices may still bite into the profit margins of its refining business.

(China Daily August 24, 2005)