R - China pushing state-owned firms to buy Russian oil gas metals assets

Beijing is in talks with state-owned enterprises "SOEs" regarding opportunities to scoop up Russian companies and assets, according to Bloomberg. The news comes on the back of European and US firms announcing exits from Russian holdings, including BP's (NYSE:BP) sale of Rosneft (OTCPK:RNFTF), Exxon's (NYSE:XOM) exit from Sakhalin, and Shell's (NYSE:SHEL) exit from a series of assets and joint ventures. China's foreign minister Wang Yi said earlier this week that China-Russia ties remain "rock solid." It was previously reported that Rosneft (OTCPK:RNFTF) was a likely bidder for BP's (BP) ~20% equity stake in the Russian producer. Western companies are in a difficult position, facing social and investor pressure to divest from Russia; selling assets at reduced prices to Russia does little to help investors, help Ukraine or hurt Russia; with China emerging as a likely buyer, it will be interesting to see if asset prices rise or Western companies re-think

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China pushing state-owned firms to buy Russian oil, gas metals assets