NOVEMBERASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9As per four people familiar with the matter, China's PetroChina is proposing to buy up to 8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude per month from state-run oil company PDVSA, hoping to resume a trade suspended four years ago by US sanctions. The US Treasury Department temporarily lifted the sanctions in October, allowing Venezuela to resume exporting crude, petrol and fuel to its most important customers. Washington has stated that the six-month reprieve is contingent on Venezuela's government agreeing to hold a free and open presidential election next year.Since the sanctions were lifted, some companies that had purchased Venezuelan oil prior to the sanctions have attempted to resurrect those transactions.According to two sources, PetroChina, China's second-largest oil refiner, has offered yuan payment for approximately 265,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude through its joint ventures with PDVSA, allowing them to rebuild cashflow and capital for production investment."They are working on it," a source close to PetroChina said. Prior to the sanctions, the company was taking up to six 2 million-barrel cargoes of Venezuelan oil per month.Following the US actions, China's government demanded that all sanctions against Venezuela be lifted. In September, President Nicolas Maduro travelled to China with a large delegation to re-launch bilateral trade, with a focus on restoring direct energy trade. During a business mission to Hanoi led by outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, top officials informed Reuters on Nov 2 that Dutch semiconductor companies and suppliers are strategizing manufacturing investments in Vietnam. The initial known investments may not be substantial, but they indicate a deliberate move to decrease dependence on China as a primary export hub. This decision comes in response to escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Western countries, which have resulted in a decline in the Netherlands' exports of cutting-edge chips to China.According to the delegation's list, around twelve out of the almost 30 businesses that accompanied Rutte were either representatives of chip companies or suppliers to semiconductor firms.During their visit to BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi), a Dutch manufacturer of chip equipment, they revealed that they had been granted permission to proceed with an initial investment of $5 million to lease a factory located in the southern region of the country.Besi's investment is expected to grow significantly, with plans to build its own factory in Vietnam within the next four years, the company's vice president for global operations, Henk Jan Poerink, told Reuters. Rutte said he was sure other Dutch chips companies and suppliers would follow, noting the size of the business delegation accompanying him. PETROCHINA TO RESUME OIL TRADE WITH VENEZUELA POST FOUR YEAR HALTDUTCH CHIPMAKERS VENTURE TO MANUFACTURE IN VIETNAMNEWSROOM
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