China owns Alberta now

[StylinRed]

Harper government approves Nexen and Progress takeover deals
Asian-state controlled firms now operate the enterprises
The Canadian Press Dec 07, 2012 15:35:18 PM

OTTAWA - The federal government has approved the takeovers of Calgary-based Nexen Inc. and Progress Energy Resources Corp. by Asian state-controlled firms.
The China National Offshore Oil Co. and Malaysia's Petronas received the OK from the government as part of a wide-ranging update of foreign takeover rules.
However, the government said it will only consider future takeover deals in the oilsands by state-owned companies in exceptional circumstances.

In addition, all state-owned enterprises seeking to buy large Canadian companies will face greater scrutiny about how they operate and how much control their home governments would have over how they do business.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says foreign state control of oilsands development has reached the point where further control would not be beneficial to Canada.
"When we say that Canada is open for business, we do not mean that Canada is for sale to foreign governments," Harper said.

The China National Offshore Oil Co., CNOOC, launched a friendly $15.1 billion bid for Nexen in July, providing a series of guarantees to the Canadian government on job creation, head office location, and corporate governance.

In a statement, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said he was satisfied that the deal would be a net benefit to Canada.

Initially, Malaysia's Petronas $6 billion bid for Progress Energy was rejected by the federal government and the company later revised its proposal.
Paradis said the company made "significant commitments" in several areas that satisfied him the deal was in net benefit to Canada.

In revising the guidelines for state-owned enterprises, the Conservatives are answering criticisms that the rules were too vague to provide certainty for investors.

But at the same time, they responded to Canadians' concerns about the implications of allowing foreign-owned firms to play a major role in Canada's natural resources sector.
The government made three major changes to the guidelines.

First, they increased the threshold for review under the Investment Canada Act for takeovers by foreign private investors to $1 billion from $330 million.
But the $330 million threshold will remain in place for state-owned enterprises.

They also gave the Minister of Industry the ability to extend the time available to conduct a national security review of proposed investments.
The CNOOC deal did not trigger a security review.

But the biggest change comes for state-owned enterprises, with the government elaborating extensively on how proposed bids from those companies will be handled in the future.
They set out five specific elements that investors will need to demonstrate in order for the government to consider approving a proposal.
At the top of the list is that the investment is commercially oriented and that the investor is free from political influence.

Canada's spy agency raised a red flag on foreign investment by state-owned firms in its annual report earlier this year.
Though CSIS didn't name specific countries or companies, it said certain state-owned enterprises have pursued what it called opaque agendas or received clandestine intelligence support for their pursuits in Canada.

CNOOC and Nexen also had a pre-existing relationship. Last year, CNOOC scooped up Opti Canada, Nexen's beleaguered minority partner in its troubled Long Lake oilsands project. The two firms also worked together in the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.news1130.com/news/nationa...takeover-deals

Against the views of most including csis Harper sold out to China and as a "consolation" claims "next time he won't" lol





http://business.financialpost.com/20...akeover-deals/ Better article

Below is a list of China’s other investments in Canadian oil and gas companies and assets:

2012

*September – Talisman Energy Inc says Sinopec Corp , China’s top refiner, agreed to buy a 49% stake in its North Sea operations for $1.5 billion.

*February – PetroChina agrees to buy a 20% stake in Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Groundbirch shale gas property in northeastern British Columbia for an undisclosed price.

*January – PetroChina becomes the first Chinese state-owned company to wholly own a Canadian oil sands development after agreeing to buy out Athabasca Oil Sands Corp’s stake in a newly approved project for C$680 million ($687.81 million).

2011

*November – Nexen and CNOOC form a joint venture to explore Nexen’s Gulf of Mexico properties for an undisclosed price.

*October – Sinopec agrees to buy Canadian oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy Ltd for $2.2 billion in cash to acquire its northeastern British Columbia shale gas holdings.

*July – CNOOC agrees to buy struggling Opti Canada Inc for US$34-million and US$2-billion in debt, to gain a 35% stake in Nexen’s underperforming Long Lake oil sands project in northern Alberta.

*June – Encana Corp and PetroChina walk away from a $5.4 billion deal that would have seen the two form a joint venture to exploit Encana’s massive Cutbank Ridge gas field in northeastern British Columbia.

2010

* April – Sinopec agrees to buy ConocoPhillips’ 9.03% stake in Syncrude Canada Ltd for US$4.65-billion.

* April – Penn West Exploration sells a 45% stake in an oil sands project to China Investment Corp for $817-million.

2009

* August – PetroChina agrees to buy a 60% stake in two undeveloped oil sands properties held by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp that could eventually produce as much as 500,000 barrels per day.

* April – Sinopec acquires an additional 10% stake in Total SA’s undeveloped Northern Lights oil sands project for a price that has not yet been disclosed. The purchase brings Sinopec’s stake in Northern Lights to 50%. Construction of Northern Lights, once expected to cost US$10.7-billion, is on hold.

2005

* April – CNOOC pays US$122-million for 16.7% in MEG Energy Ltd, which is developing an oil sands project in northern Alberta that could eventually pump up to 210,000 bpd, while other properties in MEG’s portfolio could eventually produce 500,000 bpd, according to company documents.
With files from Reuters

[Mr.HappySilp]

LOL next BC hydro sold to North Korean!!!

[dinosaur]

FFS!

Everyday another story comes out that makes me hate this man more and more.

[shawnly1000]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

LOL next BC hydro sold to North Korean!!!

Definitely will need my double layered tin foil hat if the NKs are in control of the Smart Meters

[Spoon]

Not surprised? Harper's been trying to suck up to China for awhile. Consider it as the price to pay in order to mend the fence. He's done quite a few things to piss the Chinese off in his earlier years.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Spoon

Not surprised? Harper's been trying to suck up to China for awhile. Consider it as the price to pay in order to mend the fence. He's done quite a few things to piss the Chinese off in his earlier years.

Exactly. It's all political.

There are Canadian energy companies making similar deals in other parts of the world. What should these companies do? Pull out lest they be accused of being hypocrites?
Posted via RS Mobile

[european]

This is crazy!

[tool001]

as Alison Redford said.. should just lease out Resources than sell outright

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

FFS!

Everyday another story comes out that makes me hate this man more and more.

Well I think honestly he is trying to befriend with China to get more bunsiess under way, but I think this is just wrong any natural resource should be control by Canadian investors or Canadian own compnay with over 70% investor by Canadians.

We are literally selling Canada lol. What's next? Buy our Bydro company, power company and ship them to China leaving us with nothing or charge us doulbe or triple of what we pay now?

[StylinRed]

what's amusing is the govt has been moving away from canadian state owned industries (which imo we shouldn't have) only to sell to a foreign state

now all we have to wait for are the droves of chinese foreign workers that will take up the lucrative positions in the oil industry (they're already doing it to the mining industry)

[yray]

inb4 Edmonton becomes beijington

[murd0c]

Originally Posted by yray

inb4 Edmonton becomes beijington

then people might actually want to live there

[GLOW]

after reading the thread title i'm thinking - does this mean that we'll see audi's parking wherever they want in alberta?

[Yodamaster]

Harper can get the fuck out.

[Mike Oxbig]

I smell butt hurt cacausians in this thread

[m!chael]

.

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by m!chael

Canadians get useless Arts degrees -> Complain about how life is tough and how they can't get a job (As per CIC's thread Canadian Youth have it hard) -> Unemployment in Alberta is 4.2% (too low)-> Guys who are 25 years old in Alberta make close to 100 g's with no education -> Huge labor shortage -> Chinese foreign workers come in and projects run at full capacity, pay taxes, economy expands-> Tears are shed.

Companies don't have to be owned by the Chinese to have foreign workers.

[m!chael]

.

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by m!chael

Canadians get useless Arts degrees -> Complain about how life is tough and how they can't get a job (As per CIC's thread Canadian Youth have it hard) -> Unemployment in Alberta is 4.2% (too low)-> Guys who are 25 years old in Alberta make close to 100 g's with no education -> Huge labor shortage -> Chinese foreign workers come in and projects run at full capacity, pay taxes, economy expands-> Tears are shed.

I would prefer if those who were unemployed would get those jobs instead of foreign workers including the homeless even if it were to require training/therapy to get them there

i would have no problem with foreign labour if the companies who hired them intend them to be temporary and in the meantime pay for the aforementioned training/therapy required to get jobless canadians working in those fields

[Valour]

Expertise in mining is vastly different than in oil and gas. ALberta clearly has the leading edge in this and I do not see a justifiable argument by CNOOC to bring in these workers. CNOOC is a much larger strategic vision (ie secure energy supply) vs the BC mining operation (profit).

We got tit for tat on this deal. I read elsewear that Canada got access to China insurance market and grain market. Remember that China needs and relies on our exports to fuel their growth. If they piss us off we can turn off the taps. We are the ones in control.

That being said, Fuck Harper.

And I love titties... just saying.

[Verdasco]

title is really misleading... just saying.

[PiuYi]

i have no problem with foreign workers taking these hard labour jobs, don't mean to sound stereotypical but most of the guys working up north are low education/skill guys that found themselves in an oil boom so they're making 100g's a year... do they deserve 100g's a year? no i don't think so. So why not bring in more foreign (temp) workers to fill the labour shortage and lower these outrageous wages?

Chances are the temp workers are more deserving of the money anyway (have families to feed at home, etc.) instead of the young guys blowing their 100g's on escorts and drugs




Also, not sure why everybody's shittin their pants foreign companies are owning Canadian oil properties... if shit hits the fan, Canadian govt can always freeze their assets and seize what's on Canadian land, if shit doesn't hit the fan then that's great, we just got a huge injection of money to develop our sands

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by Verdasco

title is really misleading... just saying.

not at all

[Meowjin]

2 more months left in BC for me. I'm not gonna miss it here.

[Akinari]

Hey hey, $100 says our pipelines are going next

...our North Arctic Passage, or fresh water resources...

The fact that he has sold NOT ONE, but TWO of our largest oil firms to TWO STATE-OWNED OIL FIRMS, is beyond infuriating.

This is absolutely ridiculous. If Nexen and Progress were sold off to private firms in America, alright I'd shrug my shoulders and say meh, Tories will be Tories. I mean, it's not the fact that he sold off Nexen and Progress, it's the fact that he sold them to Petronas and CNOOC that drives me insane. If he sold it to the Americans, alright whatever we've been selling things to the US since like 800 BC, but to state-run firms? Overseas? CHINA?!

*pulls hair out*

I'm up to my limit of the Tories. I want them out of there ASAP when the next elections roll around. It's come to a situation where I dare say that I'd rather have Trudeau in office than Harper, and that's saying a lot, because Liberals are a bunch of tree hugging, tax-increasing hippies. At least he won't sell off half of Canada to state-run firms, something the Tories have been doing for who knows how long.

The Malaysian government itself has its problems and it will be interesting to see how the Malaysian government will act now.

This is from the comments of a CBC article:

Nexen's share prices went up once the announcement was made in favour of the deal. The CEO's of Nexen knew that would be the case and is the reason why they put pressure on Harper's government for as long and as hard as they did. Had the deal not gone through, Harper's government, and indeed Canada as a whole, would have felt a bone-jarring economic backlash. Did you not read what Manley proclaimed? "Canada welcomes foreign investment because it is good for our economy". So what's the difference between a CEO controlling a sector of the economy and a government? Harper is saying that he doesn't like foreign governments investing in our resources but it's okay for corporations. He didn't say communist governments.

So it's okay for multinational corporations to own Canada. As long as it's not the citizenry of a country owning our resource. Of course, the government is dead set against Canadians owning our own resources. Where we would get the benefit of them. He did okay the people of China to own in Canada. Where the people of China can get a good return on Canadian oil.

Apart from the fact that they complain that they need to hire foreign workers in the tarsands because Canadians aren't doing it. So why do we need the investment?

Our economy should be judged on more than one number called the GDP.

That takeover was pressured by 150 of Canada's TOP CEO's, the TOP 1% of the damn pyramid who couldn't care less about Canada. Think about it, do the math, that's 150 business cards on their way to China.

When the top 1% of our population thinks something is good, it's never good for the rest of us.

I have no doubt this event will go down in Canadian history books. "Harper sells off Canadian resources to state-run firms". And what's even more frightening is this is only the beginning. He still has another 2-3 years in office. You do the math.

I'm glad I'm majoring in polisci