HONG KONG, April 2 (UPI) -- Chinese oil giant CNOOC's shareholders Monday voted against allowing it to keep cash on deposit with its state-owned parent company.
At an extraordinary general meeting, 52 percent of independent shareholders voted against CNOOC, the company said. The plan was to allow the group to continue depositing money with CNOOC Finance without shareholders' approval.
"We of course respect the decision of the independent shareholders on this issue," said Fu Chengyu, chief executive of CNOOC. But he said "nonetheless, the board of directors strongly believes that our current arrangements with CNOOC Finance, including the deposit services, are beneficial to the company and its shareholders as a whole. They allow the company to handle transactions flexibly and efficiently, and the interests of the company are protected by robust checks and balances. Our connected transactions with CNOOC Finance are in full compliance with the listing rules of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and good corporate governance practices."
As a result, CNOOC will use non-deposit services by CNOOC Finance and it will reassess the position regarding deposit services and "seek a way forward that is in the best interests of all shareholders as well as the company," Fu said.
