China agreed to give Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Venezuela $49 billion in loans this year in exchange for oil supplies

China's PetroChina Co. briefly overtook Exxon Mobil Corp. as the world’s most valuable company after China’s stimulus plan caused a surge in the nation’s stocks this year.

China’s fuel demand is growing, while in Northern America and Europe demand is actually falling.

China agreed to give Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Venezuela $49 billion in loans this year in exchange for oil supplies.

PetroChina last month agreed to buy a 50 percent share in AO Mangistaumunaigas for as much as $1.4 billion after China agreed to lend $10 billion to Kazakhstan, the largest energy producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia.

China National Petroleum Corp., PetroChina’s parent, is the largest foreign developer of oil fields in Sudan.

The U.S. company Exxon Mobil Corp raked in $425 billion in sales last year, or $60.45 for every man, woman and child on the planet. Exxon’s 2008 profit of $45.22 billion was the most ever for a U.S. corporation, marking the fourth consecutive year of record- setting results.

Source: Bloomberg News report dated 25 May 2009:
PetroChina Matches Exxon as Most Valuable Company (Update1). To contact the reporters on this story: John Liu in Shanghai at jliu42@bloomberg.net; Joe Carroll in Chicago at Jliu42@bloomberg.net
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See Sudan Watch, March 23, 2006: Harvard divests from stock held by HMC in China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corporation)