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(Eb) New York Times 14 July 2017 MANDAR NOS GRUPOS DO CANADÁ PDF
(Eb) New York Times 14 July 2017 MANDAR NOS GRUPOS DO CANADÁ PDF
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017 | 7
Business
When we move past email Mexicos bet
on opening
energy sector
is paying off
Farhad Manjoo With government control
left behind, companies
make 2 big oil discoveries
STATE OF THE ART
BY STANLEY REED
Alarm grows over Chinese investment in Canada the Mexican governments estimates
for the amount of oil in the field might
have been too low.
But after drilling, he said, we found
who represents British Columbia in Anbangs public records does not own that even our bullish expectations were
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Canadas Senate, reflect a longstanding shares himself. Such ownership issues conservative, and we have something
tradition to simply be suspicious of and can be sensitive in China, where the much more interesting.
BY KEVIN A. WONG
prejudiced against foreign ownership. wealthy and powerful often hold shares Because of Mexicos rich resources
Economically, China and Canada in companies in the names of others. and proximity to the United States, Mr.
No nursing home wants to be known for have grown close. The value of Chinese New York State insurance regulators Marti continued, we think that over the
uncertainty and intrigue. direct investment in Canada increased questioned details of Anbangs owner- next few decades, Mexico is going to be
So a Canadian retirement home chain nearly fivefold between 2007 and 2015. ship in June 2016, evaluating its pro- a very important source of growth in the
found itself in an uncomfortable position Chinese buyers have struck nearly $43 posed $1.6 billion deal to buy an Iowa in- oil and gas sector.
last year when it agreed to be bought by billion in Canadian deals over the last surer. Anbang abandoned the deal this Also on Tuesday, Eni, an Italian oil
a politically connected Chinese com- seven years, according to Dealogic, a year. Anbang also came under the public company, said a well recently drilled to
pany with a shadowy group of owners. data provider. spotlight when it tried and failed to test a previously announced discovery
Regulators approved the deal even But that closeness has caused ten- reach a deal on a skyscraper project in had shown that the trove also held more
though the buyer was under regulatory sions. Many Canadians blame Chinese Manhattan with President Trumps son- than one billion barrels of oil much
scrutiny in the United States and critics money for soaring home prices in places in-law, Jared Kushner. more than previously thought.
in Canada questioned the identities of its like Vancouver, and perceive a softening In November, Anbang said it would Enis chief executive, Claudio
local representatives. of Canadian positions on topics like hu- purchase Retirement Concepts, which Descalzi, said in an interview that the oil
Today, the chairman of the Chinese man rights. Last year at a news confer- owns more than 20 retirement homes would be cheap and easy to produce be-
buyer, the Anbang Insurance Group, is ence, Chinas foreign minister rebuked a across Canada. Medical groups, unions cause it was in shallow water only a few
being held by the Chinese police for un- Canadian journalist for asking a ques- and doctors quickly criticized the deal, miles from shore.
disclosed reasons. tion about human rights while Stphane asking whether a foreign buyer could be Oil companies have long eyed Mexico
Critics say the deal represents the lat- Dion, then Canadas foreign minister, held accountable. for exploration and production of ener-
est example of Canadas troublingly lax stood silently by. Some also questioned the paperwork. gy, banking on the rich geology that has
attitude toward Chinese money flooding Now some critics are focusing on the Anbang conducted the transaction produced so much oil and gas in United
into the country. deals themselves. through a new holding company called States waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
When the Anbang house of cards fi- In January, the government of Prime Cedar Tree Investment that initially Geologically it is part of the same big
nally collapses, who will gain control of Minister Justin Trudeau reversed a de- listed Hong Zhao and Ye Zhang as direc- basin, Tony Durrant, Premiers chief
these senior care facilities in B.C.? cision to stop a company partly owned tors. Cedar Tree then listed different di- executive, said in an interview.
Mark R. Strahl, a lawmaker with by a Chinese state-owned company rectors. The shifting paperwork drew Mr. Durrant said that while the United
Canadas opposition Conservative from purchasing a Montreal-based laser scrutiny from the local news media. An- States side was completely pock-
Party, asked at a parliamentary session company called ITF Technologies. In bang declined to comment on the marked with oil wells, the Mexican side
last month, referring to the province of June, an American security official ex- changes. The deal was approved in Feb- was not as heavily drilled because the
British Columbia. Are seniors about to pressed wariness over Ottawas approv- ruary. Four months later, Anbang was state-owned Petrleos Mexicanos, or
find out that their landlord is actually ing a Chinese companys acquisition of back in the news after Mr. Wu, Anbangs Pemex, had long been the only game in
the Peoples Republic of China? Norsat, a company that provides satel- chairman, was detained by the Chinese town.
Canada, like the United States and lite technology to the United States De- police for undisclosed reasons. Last year, Mexicos oil production av-
other countries, is grappling with how to fense Department, among others. Tim Ragones, a spokesman for An- eraged 2.5 million barrels per day,
handle billions of dollars of Chinese pur- The United States will review the Nor- bang, said its North American opera- making it a midsize producer. But out-
chases on its home turf. Recent pur- sat deal, said Michael R. Wessel, a mem- tions were unaffected. We continue to put has been declining, and last years
chases have included big oil companies, ber of the U.S.-China Economic and Se- MINH UONG/THE NEW YORK TIMES operate our properties and move for- figure was more than a million barrels
swank office buildings and cutting-edge curity Review Commission, which moni- ward with our development projects, per day fewer than a decade earlier.
tech firms. That last set, in particular, tors security issues for Congress. economic development minister, who all, said Josh Krane, a partner at the he said in an email. Retirement Con- Those poor levels of production com-
has raised objections in the United The U.S. and Canada have a unique can block the deal. law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon. cepts did not respond to requests for pelled the government to take on nation-
States as well as Canada from those security, defense and intelligence rela- But while United States officials have The government points to moves to comment. alist pressures and to bring in competi-
worried that they could give China ac- tionship, Mr. Wessel said in an email. rejected a growing number of Chinese tighten regulations, including a 2015 re- Scott Sinclair, a fellow at the Canadian tors to try to turn around one of the
cess to sensitive technologies. As such, any transaction that impacts deals, rejections in Canada are rare. Its quirement that investors declare Centre for Policy Alternatives, a think countrys most important industries.
Theres an emerging pattern here of upon these critical areas need to be takeover panel has rejected only two whether a foreign state had financial in- tank, says he worries that Anbang in- But the timing of the overhaul
being nave with regard to China, and strictly scrutinized. deals since 1985, while more than 1,700 terests or other influence over them. tended only to use Retirement Concepts coincided with a sharp fall in oil prices,
lax with regard to national security, The Trudeau administration de- transactions have been approved. The Anbangs deal for the retirement as a foreign supply of cash one it could which had been at more than $100 a bar-
said Michael Byers, a Canada Research fended the recent deals, saying they government does not release data on home chain, Retirement Concepts, went squeeze if it came under more official rel but are at about $48 a barrel now.
Chair at University of British Columbia. were thoroughly vetted under Canadian deals canceled before a decision. through Canadas deal review process. pressure in China. With companies chopping explora-
That leaves Canadian officials in a fix. takeover law. Our government has a The Canadian government does not Anbang burst onto the global deal The Canadian government didnt get tion budgets, interest in Mexicos early
China has helped lift Canadas economy balanced approach of openness to ideas, review deals below a certain level and scene three years ago when it unveiled a any assurances from Anbang to protect auctions was muted, allowing compa-
with tens of billions of dollars a year in people and trade, said Hans Parmar, a that level keeps rising. The threshold deal to buy the Waldorf Astoria hotel in vulnerable seniors, aside from the nies like Eni and the consortium includ-
exports. Its investments are often in spokesman for Canadas economic de- rose in April from 600 million Canadian New York for about $2 billion. promise to maintain existing staffing ing Premier to pick up what are turning
businesses like nursing homes that velopment ministry. dollars to 800 million dollars, and it rose But questions about ownership have levels, he said. Beyond that, this was out to be gems.
could use the money. Many of those That law, called the Investment Cana- again in June to 1 billion dollars, about dogged the company. The New York pretty much a blank check for Anbang. Now, most major oil companies have
transactions have little to do with na- da Act, is similar to the takeover review $770 million. Times reported last year that many of acquired positions in Mexico. After this
tional security or other sensitive issues. laws of the United States. Government In that regard, most investment in the companys owners had links to its Edward Wong in Princeton, N.J., contrib- discovery, it is going to be quite hot, Mr.
The anxieties, said Yuen Pau Woo, officials make recommendations to the Canada is not subject to any review at chairman, Wu Xiaohui, who according to uted reporting. Durrant said.