China Becomes A BP Shareholder

HONG KONG – China has quietly accumulated nearly a 1% stake in BP to help secure its oil supply to fuel rapid economic growth. The silent investment from China has come to the attention of Downing Street, which has been monitoring the situation carefully.

A Chinese sovereign wealth fund has purchased about 1 billion pounds ($2 billion) worth of BP (nyse: BP – news – people ) over a period of time, accounting for just less than 1% of the U.K.’s biggest enterprise. “We are aware of the Chinese holding and we welcome all shareholders,” a spokesperson for BP said, confirming the investment without identifying which Chinese state fund had bought the stake, the Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday. Although the British government may publicly welcome the Chinese state fund’s investment, the newspaper noted that all parties on Downing Street are keeping a close eye on developments.


U.K. Chancellor Alistair Darling is in Beijing this week for talks to tighten Sino-British economic links. He is speaking with Chinese government officials including Lou Jiwei, chairman of the China Investment Corp., the sovereign wealth fund that manages $200 billion, about 12% of China