BEIJING, Mar. 3 -- Exxon Mobil Corp. confirmed Wednesday that it completed the sale of its 3.7 percent stake in China¡¯s largest refining company, saying it had met the goals it set in participating in the IPO four years ago.

    The biggest U.S. integrated oil company said the sale of its 3.17 billion shares in China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, at a price of HK$3.38 (US$0.43) a share started after the close of the Hong Kong market, and brought in about HK$10.7 billion, or US$1.37 billion.

    The gain from the sale would be reported as part of Exxon Mobil¡¯s first-quarter earnings, the company said. Compared with the price Exxon Mobil paid for the shares in the October 2000 IPO ¡ª HK$1.61 a share ¡ª the oil giant more than doubled its investment.

    ¡°Our primary objective was to demonstrate our commitment to China, and to support Sinopec¡¯s IPO,¡± said Lauren Kerr, a spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil. ¡°We feel that both of those objectives have been successfully met.¡±

    Two other global oil producers who invested in Sinopec¡¯s IPO, BP PLC and Royal Dutch/Shell Group, sold their stakes early last year for roughly US$730 million each.

    Exxon Mobil¡¯s sale was by no means a pullout from China, said Jacques Rousseau, who covers the company for Friedman Billings Ramsey. ¡°It¡¯s just that they don¡¯t need to own the (Sinopec) company stock.¡± he said.

    There was much more interest among the major oil producers in owning a stake in foreign companies that can provide access to coveted oil and natural gas resources, as in Russia, he said.

    Exxon Mobil would probably reinvest proceeds from the Sinopec sale in other joint ventures in China, he predicted.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies)