White House zeroes-in on Unocal bid

The White House will scrutinize the China National Offshore Oil Co Ltd's proposed US$18.5bn cash take over of California's Unocal Corp if a bid were approved, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting the White House spokesman. Because a Chinese bid to purchase Unocal would have to be approved by US regulators, the White House and Congress could kill the deal. Congressional and other critics warn the Chinese takeover could have negative national security implications for the US and open the way to other Beijing takeovers in key industries. Forty-one Congress representatives already urged the White House to review what they considered a potentially menacing deal.