Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Harvard University to sell stake in PetroChina
AP
BOSTON: Harvard University, after months of pressure from student activists, will sell an estimated $4.4m (E3.4m) stake in PetroChina, whose parent company is closely tied to the Sudanese government, university officials said.
Activists say the move is the first major victory in a national campaign for divestment from Sudan, whose government the Bush administration has accused of genocide in Darfur, led by its Janjaweed militia. It is also a huge step for Harvard, which had resisted pressure to divest, and didn’t sellout from firms doing business in apartheid South Africa.
“Divestment is not a step that Harvard takes lightly, but I believe there is a compelling case for action in these special circumstances, in light of the terrible situation still unfolding in Darfur and the leading role played by PetroChina's parent company in the Sudanese oil industry, which is so important to the Sudanese regime,” said Harvard president Lawrence H Summers said. The decision was made by the governing Harvard Corporation.
Filings with federal securities regulators indicate that in December, the University owned 67,200 shares of PetroChina worth about $4.4m (E3.4m), according to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper. The PetroChina investment represents a fraction of the university's $23bn (E17.9bn) endowment.
PetroChina, a Beijing-based oil company, is owned by China National Petroleum Co, which has invested more than $1bn in a JV with Sudan to increase that country's oil revenues, some of which is used to fund the military. Harvard may own shares of PetroChina on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but the University isn’t required to disclose its Hong Kong holdings publicly.
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