From: "Tim Shorrock" <tim.shorrock at ipgdirect.com> Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 23:17:16 -0500 Organization: Asian Assets Direct
Goldman Sachs Moves PetroChina IPO Seminar as Unions Press Attack on Chinese Investments
March 22, 2000
By Tim Shorrock Asian Assets Direct Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - Goldman Sachs called off an investment roadshow at a New York hotel Wednesday just before the AFL-CIO held a press conference denouncing a $3 billion Chinese initial public offering underwritten by the financial firm, labor officials and the hotel's management said.
But Goldman Sachs insisted it had not cancelled anything. A spokeswoman in New York said it moved the seminar for PetroChina - the state-owned company that is trying to raise $3 billion by listing on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchange - to another venue in search of a bigger room.
The spokeswoman, however, would not reveal the location of the new hotel or provide any information on how much capital PetroChina tried to raise with the IPO. The Chinese government has reduced the size of the offering in recent weeks from $5 billion to $3 billion.
"I'm not going to say anything else," the Goldman Sachs spokeswoman said, when pressed for details. "We are in a quiet period."
The reports about Goldman Sachs' event at the St. Regis Sheraton Hotel came initially from the AFL-CIO but were confirmed by an assistant manager in the hotel's catering office. "It was cancelled this morning," the manager said. "It's not in the computer anymore."
(Late Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal Interactive edition reported that Goldman Sachs moved its event to the Four Seasons Hotel "after about 100 protesters showed up at the St. Regis" led by organizers who "planned to confront potential investors going to the presentation." It quoted AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka as saying Goldman Sachs had "pulled out" of the event.
The Journal, reporting from Hong Kong, added that PetroChina, in an attempt to boost its chances in the markets, brought in several investors "well-connected with the Chinese government," including Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Both companies, the report said, are "controlled by [Hong Kong] tycoon Li Ka-shing" and joined with other investors to buy around $350 million of PetroChina's stock.)
In New York, the labor briefing for reporters, analysts and fund managers went on as scheduled at the St. Regis.
Trumka formally announced that institutional investors controlling $1 trillion in assets had refused to invest in the upcoming PetroChina IPO, as reported Tuesday by Asian Assets Direct.
"The AFL-CIO will continue to work with pension fund trustees, in the United States and internationally, to make institutional investors fully aware of all the troubling aspects of the PetroChina deal," said Trumka.
The U.S. unions represented by the AFL-CIO have joined with a coalition of religious groups, environmentalists and conservative national security advocates that are actively lobbying against China's attempt to raise $3 billion through the IPO.
They claim that China National Petroleum Corp., PetroChina's parent company, violates human rights and international labor standards through its heavy investments in Chinese-controlled Tibet and the African country of Sudan, which is under U.S. anti-terrorism sanctions.
The Center for Security Policy in Washington has also weighed in, saying U.S. investment banks should avoid IPOs from communist countries
"We offer an alternative investment perspective to Goldman Sachs' marketing roadshow. Stewards of working capital need to be fully aware of the investment risks and human rights abuses that come with participating in the PetroChina IPO," Trumka said.
H. Carl McCall, New York State's Comptroller, announced at the briefing that the New York State Common Retirement Fund, worth $120 billion, "would not be participating in the PetroChina IPO." The fund represents more than 1 million public employees and retirees.