CEFC China Energy: the oil and gas deals it quietly snapped up overseas

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CEFC China Energy has a 14.2 per cent stake in Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00am, 23 Nov 2017Updated: 7:22pm, 3 Jul 2018

The arrest in the United States of former Hong Kong home affairs secretary Patrick Ho Chi-ping over an alleged multimillion-dollar bribery scheme in Africa has thrust the low-profile Chinese energy company accused of backing the deals into the spotlight.

Details in US court filings point to CEFC China Energy, a Shanghai-based rising star in the industry, as the unidentified firm pulling the strings behind the US$2.9 million in alleged bribes to leaders in Africa.

The private conglomerate and its non-profit Hong Kong-based China Energy Fund Committee – which Ho headed – denied the allegations in statements on Tuesday, adding they were “highly concerned” about the claims.

A security guard stands at the entrance to an unmarked building compound listed as an address for CEFC China Energy in Shanghai on Wednesday. Photo: AP

CEFC China Energy has grown into a US$25 billion giant energy conglomerate, becoming China’s sixth-largest private firm and landing billions in overseas energy deals for China, the world’s biggest oil importer.

As a major global energy player, CEFC China Energy has acquisitions across oil-rich nations in central Africa, eastern Europe, and the Middle East, helping China advance its “Belt and Road Initiative” ambitions.

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