China's state assets watchdog said here Friday that the derivatives
trading of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. was in violation of the rules,
and the company exceeded its authority in deciding to endorse the trading.
Du Yuanquan, a spokesman with the State-owned Assets Supervision and
Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council, said the company
seriously violated the decision-making process and made wrong judgments on the
trading, which led to massive losses valued at roughly 550 million US dollars.
China Aviation Oil Holding Company, the corporate parent which owns 75
percent of stocks of the Singapore company, is investigating losses, Du said.
Du said the losses should be dealt with in accordance with concerned
commercial rules in Singapore. The Singapore company is now looking for
investors to cover its debts.
He said SASAC has asked the Singapore company to cooperate with the
investigation by Singapore authorities.
Du also said his commission is closely observing the investigation and is
going to punish the management members responsible for the losses.
SASAC urges other state-owned enterprises to get lessons from the China
Aviation Oil losses and set up effective risk-control mechanisms overseeing
their overseas subsidiaries, he said.
With a registered capital of 3.6 billion yuan (435 million US dollars), China
Aviation Oil is controlled and overseen by SASAC. The company established an
aviation oil filling network in nearly 100 domestic airports and provides
oil-filling service for 108 domestic and international airlines.