A study of restructuring in the Chinese petroleum sector

Abstract

China's oil industry has experienced fundamental changes since 1988. China's oil market will be open to foreign companies just a few years after its entry into the WTO in the end of 2001. The three national petroleum companies had been privatized and listed in overseas capital market exchanges during 2000~2001. This thesis reviews the restructuring process at both industry level and company levels. At the industry level, it summarizes what has been done since 1988 by the Chinese government, and how entry into WTO will influence the industry. At the company level, it reviews how the national oil companies were reorganized, restructured, and privatized. The thesis also paints a picture of the current competitive situation in the China oil industry, and explores how the three Chinese oil companies initiated a series of internal re-structurings after their listing in order to achieve a better positioning in the new competition context. The thesis also studies how the companies perform in a changed industry environment. It discusses the learning process that happened on both sides - the companies and the capital markets. It also analysis what impacts the capital markets have had on the three previously state-owned companies.