China Said to Plan Spin Off of Sinopec, PetroChina Pipelines

The Chinese government is looking at stripping its biggest energy companies of their oil and gas pipelines, as part of sweeping industry reforms that would see the assets spun off into independent businesses, according to people with knowledge of the plans.

China’s economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, is leading talks on the initiative, according to four people, who asked not to be named as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly on the issue. The separation of the pipeline units would be part of President Xi Jinping’s reforms to allow markets a more decisive role in the economy.