Receipt of SEC No-Action Relief by PetroChina Company Limited and Termination of the Initial Offer Period and Withdrawal Rights
23 Dezembro 2005 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
JILIN, China, Dec. 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On October
28, 2005, PetroChina Company Limited ('PetroChina'; HKSE stock
code: 0857; NYSE: PTR) and Jilin Chemical Industrial Company
Limited ('Jilin' or the 'Company'; HKSE stock code: 0368; NYSE:
JCC) jointly announced that, subject to the satisfaction or waiver
of certain pre-conditions, Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited,
on behalf of PetroChina, and (in the United States only)
PetroChina, would make a voluntary conditional offer (the 'H Share
Offer') to acquire all the outstanding overseas listed foreign
invested shares of Jilin (the 'Jilin H Shares') for HK$2.80 per
Jilin H Share, and the Jilin H Shares represented by American
Depositary Shares (the 'Jilin ADSs') for HK$280.00 per Jilin ADS,
in each case not already owned by PetroChina and parties acting in
concert with PetroChina. As of November 15, 2005, PetroChina owned
67.29% of the outstanding share capital of Jilin. PetroChina and
Jilin have filed amendments to the Schedule 13E-3 transaction
statement that they jointly filed with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on November 16, 2005, on
December 9, 2005, December 13, 2005 and December 23, 2005. The
Schedule 13E-3 is publicly available on the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov/ . PetroChina today announced that it has
received no-action relief from the staff of the SEC, confirming
that they will not recommend enforcement action to the SEC if
PetroChina terminates the initial offer period of the H Share Offer
(the 'Initial Offer Period') and thereby terminates withdrawal
rights before the scheduled expiration of the Initial Offer Period,
so long as, at the time withdrawal rights terminate: (i) the
Initial Offer Period has been open for at least 20 U.S. business
days and (ii) all conditions of the H Share Offer have been
satisfied or waived. PetroChina has announced that, if the
resolutions approving the voluntary withdrawal of the listings of
the Jilin H Shares and the Jilin ADSs from the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, respectively, are passed
at the special class meeting of Jilin H Shareholders to be held on
Saturday, 31 December 2005 (the 'H Share Class Meeting'), and if
valid acceptances of the H Share Offer for not less than 66 2/3% in
nominal value of the Jilin H Shares, including the Jilin H Shares
represented by the Jilin ADSs are received, the H Share Offer will
become unconditional and the Initial Offer Period will expire. The
expiration of the Initial Offer Period may occur at any time on or
after 31 December 2005, the date of the H Share Class Meeting. The
right of Jilin H Shareholders and Jilin ADS Holders to withdraw
their acceptances of the H Share Offer will also terminate at such
time. Accordingly, Jilin H Shareholders and Jilin ADS Holders that
wish to withdraw their acceptances of the H Share Offer should do
so before 31 December 2005 to ensure that their withdrawal is
timely. A Jilin H Shareholder who accepts the H Share Offer may
withdraw the acceptance during the Initial Offer Period by lodging
a timely notice in writing signed by the acceptor (or his/her/its
agent duly appointed in writing and evidence of whose appointment
is produced together with the notice) to the Registrar at its
address set forth in the composite offer and response document
relating to the H Share Offer (the 'Composite Document'). A Jilin
ADS Holder who accepts the H Share Offer in respect of the Jilin H
Shares represented by his/her/its Jilin ADSs may withdraw the
acceptance during the Initial Offer Period by providing timely
notice in writing to the US Tender Agent at its address set forth
in the letter of transmittal for the H Share Offer. PetroChina and
Jilin will jointly release an announcement when the H Share Offer
becomes unconditional in all respects. PetroChina and Jilin will
communicate such announcement in the U.S. by issuing a press
release that will be filed with the SEC (and will be available on
the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/) and delivered to the
NYSE. If the H Share Offer is extended, PetroChina and Jilin will
jointly release an announcement to that effect, and such
announcement will be filed with the SEC (and will be available on
the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/ ). The Company is one of
the PRC's largest producers of basic chemical and chemical raw
materials, and one of the PRC's largest diversified chemical
enterprises. Its primary business consists of the production and
sale of petroleum products, petrochemical and organic chemical
products, synthetic rubber products, chemical fertilizers and other
chemical products. This press release does not constitute an offer
to purchase, an offer for sale of or a solicitation of an offer to
sell or purchase any securities in the United States. Securities
may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration
or an exemption from registration. Investors should carefully read
any filings made by the Company or PetroChina in connection with
the offer for shares of the Company, including any tender offer
statement on Schedule TO, transaction statement on Schedule 13E-3,
related solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 and
any other documents relating to the offer for the shares of Jilin
Chemical Industrial Company Limited, if and when any such documents
are filed with the SEC, including any amendments and exhibits
thereto, because the filings will contain important information. If
and when filed with the SEC, any such Schedule TO, Schedule 13E-3,
Schedule 14D-9 and any related documents will be available free of
charge at the SEC's web site, at http://www.sec.gov/ . Certain
statements contained in this press release might be viewed as
'forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933 and the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of
1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the
performance or financial condition of the Company to be materially
different from any future performance or financial condition
implied by such statements. For further information, please
contact: Jilin Chemical Industrial Company Limited Mr. Li Chunqing
Tel: +86-432-390-3651 Fax: +86-432-302-8126 Email: Fortune China
Public Relations Ltd. Ms. Mabel Tai Tel: +852-2838-1162 Fax:
+852-2834-5109 Email: DATASOURCE: Jilin Chemical Industrial Company
Limited CONTACT: Mr. Li Chunqing of Jilin Chemical Industrial
Company Limited, +86-432-390-3651, or fax, +86-432-302-8126, or ;or
Ms. Mabel Tai of Fortune China Public Relations Ltd. for Jilin
Chemical Industrial Company Limited, +852-2838-1162, or fax,
+852-2834-5109, or Web site: http://www.sec.gov/
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