Who's buying what and where
WHEN STATE-OWNED company China National Offshore Oil Corporation announced its intention to buy US rival Unocal for $18.5 billion, there was a predictably irrational response from certain American politicians, who saw the bid as an assault on strategic interests. But it is something they will need to get used to – CNOOC's June bid was exceptionally ambitious, but was otherwise typical of a new-found aggression from emerging-market companies in their growth strategies. For years, companies in the developing world have been prey to takeover bids from businesses in north America, western Europe, Japan and Australasia. Now, the tables are beginning to turn.
A handful of regional champions, mostly in...
