On November 9, 2022, Dr. Xiaoyi Mu from the University of Dundee will present “Have the Chinese National Oil Companies Paid Too Much in Overseas Asset Acquisition?” as part of the EEEP Seminar Series.
Virtual: Join via Zoom
Abstract: This paper provides both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of whether the Chinese oil companies have “overpaid” than international counterparts in overseas asset acquisitions. Using a difference-in-difference and hedonic pricing framework, we find that while the Chinese companies did not pay more than international oil companies for the period of 2001-2008, there is statistically significant evidence that they overpaid during the 2009-2016 period. A counterfactual analysis was conducted to quantify the extent of the overpayment. Interviews and qualitative analysis suggest that the overpayment mainly results from lack of experience and rush for projects in a period of high oil prices rather than concerns about energy security or other political considerations. The results raise concerns over the efficiency and corporate governance of Chinese state-owned companies, pointing to the need for further reforms.
Read full paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3524134
Speaker Bio: Dr Xiaoyi (Shawn) Mu is a Reader in Energy Economics at Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP). He joined the Centre in 2008 as a Lecturer and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2012 and Reader in 2016. Before joining the Centre, between 2006 and 2008, he was a Senior Consultant at Global Energy Decisions (now ABB Ventyx) in California, providing advisory services on electricity prices and asset valuation of power plants. From 1994 to 2000, he worked as an analyst and manager at the headquarters of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and PetroChina, engaged in strategic planning and coordination of marketing activities in the refining and marketing division, and crude oil sales and planning at the natural gas and pipelines division.
Dr Mu is a member of International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) and won two Best Student Paper Awards (first places) in its international and North American Conferences. His research interest includes commodity pricing and volatility, industrial organization and strategies of energy companies, regulation and restructuring of energy industries, and China’s energy policy. Dr Mu’s papers have been appeared in such journals as Economic Inquiry, Energy Economics, Energy Journal, Energy Policy, and Journal of Industrial Economics.