China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's biggest oil refiner, has denied that it plans to buy the rest of unit Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. Earlier in the day, reports had surfaced that Sinopec may offer 7.8 yuan - 8 yuan per share totaling to almost 5.76 billion yuan (US$719 million) to buy the balance shares in Shanghai Petrochemical.
Since its listing in October 2000, Sinopec had expressed plans to eventually take full ownership of its units. If Sinopec is to complete the process before the companies are required to meet a government directive to dispose of their non-tradable stock, it may simplify shareholding structures for Sinopec, resulting in savings.
Earlier this year, Sinopec completed the buyout of four listed units for 14.3 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) in April - Sinopec Qilu Co., Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Co, Sinopec Zhongyuan Petroleum Co., Sinopec Shengli Oil Field Dynamic Group Co. Sinopec has also completed a HK$3.8 billion buyout of Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical Co. in March last year.
06-Jun-06 
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