China Oilfield Service to raise up to RMB 7 bln

Published: 23 Sep 2009 23:20:48 PST

Top 5 News From ChinaKnowledge.com

Capital Group cuts stake in BYD to 5%
Hang Seng Index opens 209 points lower on Thu
China's coal imports fall to 11.77 mln tons in Aug
Mirae Asset to set up fund management JV in China
ADB raises China's economic growth forecast for 2009

Sep. 24, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China Oilfield Service Ltd<601808><2883>, a provider of integrated oilfield services in China, plans to raise between RMB 6 billion and RMB 7 billion by early next year, sources reported, said Executive Vice President Chen Weidong yesterday.

Chen added that the firm could issue new shares in Shanghai, Hong Kong or both, but that it would prefer to raise the capital on the domestic A share market in spite of limitations on issuance.

He also said that the firm would prefer domestic investment because China has substantial foreign exchange reserves.

The financing could reduce COSL's debt/equity ratio from the current 130% to a more reasonable 100%.

The firm's HK$19.5-billion acquisition of Norway's Awilco Offshore, now called COSL Drilling Europe, brought its debt/equity ratio to 132.5% as of Jun. 30, 2009, 1.4 percentage points higher than a year earlier.