What if nexen coveted cnooc

More recently, a Plains Midstream Canada pipeline failed in April , releasing an estimated 28, barrels of oil in the northwestern part of the province. Environment Updated. Steve Letwin, chief executive officer of gold mining firm Iamgold Corp. Letwin, however, supports the Nexen deal and thinks market forces should prevail. In addition, "Nexen wasn't exactly performing all that well, and it looks like [CNOOC] is willing to put some capital into the company and have it grow.

The government should intervene in only limited cases, he said, such as when a takeover "has some potential harm to our freedom," or if the purchaser has a terrible environmental record.

Most executives concede that Ottawa needs to have the power to intervene, in this case or others, where the ownership of a major company is at stake. More than two-thirds of those surveyed said the federal government must keep its powers to disallow foreign takeovers of major Canadian firms by applying a "net benefit" test. Still, many C-Suite respondents were critical of the current review process, with 44 per cent suggesting that the vague "net benefit" rules are hampering investment in Canada.

The country needs "a more definitive agreement on what terms foreign investment can come to Canada," he said. It's worth noting that the protections contained in the agreement apply only to companies already operating in China. Free-trade negotiations, in principle, are not to be dismissed lightly. The structure of the Chinese economy, the erratic respect for the rules of property law, and the off-limits areas of the Chinese economy mean that any talks would be long and laborious, with no guarantee that the Chinese government would agree to rules found in free-trade deals that Canada has signed with other countries.

The bid for Nexen is now being reviewed by the Harper government, with the nebulous term "net benefit" before a takeover is approved still unclear. If one part of the "net benefit" became "Can we do there what you're proposing to do here?

Quite likely, the government will eventually approve the deal, but the condition of reciprocity won't be there.

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