---
=DJ UPDATE: Cosco Incurs Heavy Oil Derivatives Losses - Sources (2009/09/15
14:49PM)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





By Florence Tan

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES



SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., or Cosco, suffered
losses in oil derivatives trading through its bunker fuel joint venture
when crude prices crashed last year, two persons close to the company said
Tuesday.

The Singapore unit of China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co. Ltd., or
Chimbusco, is responsible for Cosco''s bunker fuel purchases worldwide,
said one person.

Chimbusco is a joint venture between Cosco and PetroChina Co. (PTR).

The persons didn''t disclose the size of Chimbusco''s losses or its hedging
status. However, China-based Caijing magazine late Monday cited a person
close to Cosco as saying unrealized losses were in billions of yuan.

The report comes just days after China''s State-Owned Asset Supervision and
Administration Commission said it supports some state-owned companies in
reserving the right to seek payment from and take legal action against
counterparties on oil-related structured-options contracts.

That move prompted bankers to discuss how to impose stiffer collateral
requirements for Chinese companies that seek derivatives contracts.

In addition to Cosco, China Eastern Airlines Corp. (CEA) and Air China Ltd.
(AIRYY) sent letters to six investment banks in early August regarding
their derivatives contracts, a person familiar with the letters said
earlier.

Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co.
(JPM), Citigroup Inc (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) were among the banks that
received the letters, three people familiar with the situation said
earlier.

Light, sweet crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange slid from an
all-time high above $147 a barrel last July to just above $30 in December.



-By Florence Tan, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-6415-4067;
[email protected]

(P.R. Venkat and Jing Yang in Shanghai contributed to this article.)



Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today''s most
important business and market news, analysis and commentary:
http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=TGHFz2YpriWEC26XTTeOsA%3D%3D. You
can use this link on the day this article is published and the following
day.




(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 15, 2009 02:49 ET (06:49 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.