* Petronas in talks to rescue its bid for Progress
* Canada set to announce guidelines for investment
OTTAWA, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Canadian Industry Minister
Christian Paradis on Tuesday declined to comment about talks
with officials of Petronas, the Malaysian state oil
company aiming to revive its C$5.2 billion ($5.2 billion) bid to
buy Progress Energy Resources Corp.
Paradis stunned markets on Oct 19 by rejecting the deal on
the grounds it would not bring a net benefit to Canada. He gave
Petronas an extra 30 days to modify its bid, and the company met
industry ministry officials last week.
“When there is a review under consideration I cannot comment
on specifics. I can acknowledge what Petronas has said – that
they met with officials from my department,” he told reporters
in Ottawa after a speech.
Sources told Reuters that Ottawa wanted to approve the deal
but was afraid doing so would tie its hands when reviewing a
much more controversial $15.1 billion bid by China’s CNOOC Ltd
for Nexen Inc.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he would unveil a new set
of guidelines on foreign investment at about the same time the
government announces its decision on both the CNOOC and Petronas
bids.
“I don’t want to create any speculation around any cases. I
don’t want to be drawn in( to) details, and this is why I’m
careful here. When it gets time to announce new policies or a
new framework we will do it properly,” said Paradis.
The next deadline on the CNOOC deal is Nov 9 and unconfirmed
media reports say Ottawa wants to extend the review periods for
both bids until Dec. 7.
