BP to cash in with PetroChina sell-off

OIL giant BP is selling its stake in China's biggest oil and gas firm PetroChina after seeing the value of the investment almost treble to US$1.6bn (£864m) in just four years.

The company is placing the 3.5bn shares it bought when the company listed in Hong Kong in 2000 at between HK$3.58 (24.8p) and HK$3.70 per share, a discount of 8% to 10% on today's closing price of HK$4.025. It paid HK$1.28 a share for the 2% stake.

Gary Dirks, president of BP China, said it was an 'appropriate time' to sell but the group remained committed to the companies' joint venture to run 500 petrol stations in Guangdong province.

BP has won a swathe of business in China recently and intends to invest US$3bn there over the next five years. It still holds a 2.2% stake in PetroChina rival Sinopec.

PetroChina's other minority shareholders include US investment guru Warren Buffett. Goldman Sachs is placing the BP shares.