Banks circle Sinopec for dollar bond

Banks have been circling China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, better known as Sinopec, for a potential US dollar bond. There are rumours that the company is eyeing a dollar bond with tenors of five, 10 and 30 years.

The state-linked company is China’s largest producer and supplier of refined oil products and major petrochemical products. It is an obvious candidate to tap the US dollar bond market after it bought a 9.03% equity interest in Syncrude, a ConocoPhillips oil-sands project, for $4.65 billion last year. Its bridge loan, which was done on a bilateral basis, is due for refinancing.

But, for now, it is still unclear...