CNOOC eyes US$13bn bid for Unocal

CNOOC China's third largest oil company, is reportedly mulling a US$13bn bid for US-based oil and gas group Unocal an acquisition that would dwarf previous Chinese foreign takeovers. According to the Financial Times, the plan hinges on CNOOC selling Unocal's US assets and keeping the firm's Asian operations, which include reserves and long-term gas projects in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh. The report said detailed talks between the two companies had yet to take place; CNOOC is reportedly also mulling other big overseas bids as alternatives. The biggest Chinese purchase of an overseas company to date was the US$1.75bn buy-up of IBM's PC business by Lenovo in December.