We will not launch in the acquisition of foreign companies during the financial crisis

After three days of official visit, a Brazilian delegation, headed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, on Wednesday, Beijing with Pocket a loan of 10 billion dollars of the State Bank Chinese China Development Bank ("Les Echos" of May 19). Credit, negotiated for several months by the two capitals, will allow the Brazilian Petrobras group to fund part of its five-year investment of $ 174 billion plan and in particular the very expensive development of fields in the petroleum basins of Santos and Campos. If it will be repaid over 10 years in dollars, the loan is guaranteed, on the same period, by the annual delivery of 200,000 barrels of crude per day to the Chinese refiner Sinopec.

In the last three months, the China was granted half a dozen similar loans for a total of $ 45 billion (read here), its major oil groups providing privileged access to the crude oil and gas reserves which the growth of the country continues to need, despite the global economic slowdown. In February, China Development Bank, which supports most of major energy projects of central authority abroad, had already released $ 25 billion for Russian Rosneft and Transneft, in exchange for daily deliveries on twenty years of 300,000 barrels of Siberian oil. Other loans were mounted by the Export-Import Bank, another large bank "political" Government or by the petroleum groups public themselves.

If capitals and foreign businesses have long been reluctant to use these bitterly negotiated Chinese support, they are penalized since summer 2008 the overcautiousness of international banking institutions which have sharply reduced their credits and the economic difficulties of their Governments, which are now to fund the expensive work of prospecting for petroleum groups at a time when oil fell to $ 60 a barrel after having exceeded 147 dollars in July last.

To find cash and to continue their investments, energy giants have no choice but to turn to Beijing, which still has large reserves of dollars accumulated by its trade surpluses. "It is ultimately a win-win situation." They have need of money and oil. "Our interests meet at a time when the price of raw materials is very low," summarizes the Professor Guan Qingyou, Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Beijing, which has long pushed its State enterprises to focus on taking control of reserves of resources or companies abroad, has integrated that the negotiation of loans related to the delivery of raw materials or the multiplication of cooperation contracts would allow the country to ensure a supply privileged in the long term without knowing the humiliating rebuffs experienced since 2005 in the United States. That year, the Chinese State giant Cnooc had had, under the pressure of US congressmen, abandon its proposed acquisition of Unocal. Last month, Fu Chengyu, President and CEO of Cnooc, recognized indeed himself publicly that his group and other giants of oil but also mining sector had recently "adapted" their development strategy. "We will not launch in the acquisition of foreign companies during the financial crisis." "Instead, we will seek partners who need to make investments and joint ventures with them", had detailed the CEO, in line with the new orders of battle from Beijing.