CNPC, ConocoPhillips halt talks for Sichuan field

    CHINA National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) ended talks with ConocoPhillips on shale gas development in China after a two-year study.

    “The right commercial decision was to halt further discussions on this block,” ConocoPhillips’ China unit said yesterday. The company said it made the decision some time ago. While China has sought to replicate the U.S. shale boom, the nation last year cut its 2020 shale gas production target to about a third of its original estimate amid difficult geology, a lack of infrastructure and limited exploration rights. The nation holds the world’s largest shale gas reserves.

    Slow reform on stock rout, researcher urges

    CHINA should slow the pace of opening up its capital markets after the recent equities rout, according to a researcher with the State Council.

    The nation’s financial rules appear to have gone “backwards” after the government took unprecedented measures to halt the stock slide, Qing Wu, a researcher at the State Council’s development research center, said Monday in Beijing. China’s goal of opening up the capital account and making the currency fully convertible is still a challenge and needs to be reassessed, he said.

    Shanghai Feilo eyes Osram lamps division

    SHANGHAI Feilo Acoustics has made a non-binding offer to acquire the lamps business of Germany’s Osram, Shanghai Feilo said yesterday.

    Though Osram said it had not started an active sales process, it has hired UBS to help it choose a preferred buyer and sources said last month that the company had been in talks with potential suitors, including peers in China. The lamps business, which accounts for about 40 percent of Osram’s revenue, has been in decline but is seen as potentially attractive to an Asian buyer because of its sales and distribution channels in Europe and North America, along with rights to use the Osram and Sylvania brands.

    Spring Airlines to buy 21 Airbus planes

    SHANGHAI-LISTED budget carrier Spring Airlines plans to buy 21 Airbus A320 planes for 12.45 billion yuan (US$2.04 billion) as growth in both international and domestic air travel increases.

    The company plans to fund the purchase in part through a private placement of shares to raise 4.5 billion yuan. The single-aisle A320 has a list price of US$97 million, according to Airbus.