Why an Enigmatic Chinese Company Just Spent $9 Billion on a Stake in Rosneft

  • Oil to be used to make petrochemicals, which face shortage: Ye
  • CEFC chairman sees natural gas as critical to power generation
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
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While there’s a risk oil may slide below $30 as its displaced by alternative energy sources, it will still be used to make petrochemicals, said the head of the enigmatic Chinese company that last month bought a $9 billion stake in Rosneft Oil Co.

In a note running longer than 12,000 Chinese characters posted on CEFC China Energy Co.’s WeChat account, Founder and Chairman Ye Jianming justified purchasing a chunk of the Russian oil giant from Glencore Plc and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund -- a deal that’s thrust the previously little-known firm into the global spotlight. He also riffed on everything from his nation’s history and philosophy to the future of fossil fuels and electric vehicles.