TORONTO/KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Canada has blocked
Malaysian state oil firm Petronas’ C$5.17 billion ($5.2 billion)
bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources in a
surprise move that could signal problems for a much larger
Chinese deal in the country’s energy sector.

Canada’s announcement late on Friday, minutes before a
deadline, was a blow to Petronas, whose domestic oil
supplies are shrinking and which has been seeking to boost its
resources beyond Malaysia and volatile areas such as Sudan.

TORONTO/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Canada has blocked Malaysian state oil firm Petronas’ C$5.17 billion ($5.22 billion) bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources Corp, a surprise move that could signal problems for a much bigger offer by China’s CNOOC Ltd for oil producer Nexen Inc.

The announcement late on Friday in Canada is a blow to the expansion plans of Petronas as its domestic oil supplies shrink and it seeks to boost its resources beyond Malaysia and volatile areas such as Sudan.

By Stuart Grudgings

(Reuters) – When one of Vietnam’s richest and best-connected bankers was arrested in August, a move that sent the country’s stock market tumbling, a little-known blog broke the news hours ahead of state media.

It was the first sign that the Quan Lam Bao website could be a window into mounting leadership tensions as the Communist country wrestles with the deep economic woes that have shattered its image as one of Asia’s hottest emerging markets.

MANILA/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The Philippine government and Muslim rebels agreed a deal to end a 40-year conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people, President Benigno Aquino said on Sunday, paving the way for a political and economic revival of the country’s troubled south.

The agreement begins a roadmap to create a new autonomous region in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country before the end of Aquino’s term in 2016, giving the Muslim-dominated area greater political powers and more control over resources.

MANILA/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Negotiators from the Philippine government and the country’s largest Muslim rebel group began a fresh round of peace talks in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, aiming to seal an agreement to end 40 years of conflict in the south of the mainly Catholic state.

Government and rebel negotiators are closing in on a peace deal after nearly 15 years of violence-interrupted talks, a potential landmark success for President Benigno Aquino that could pave the way for more investment in the country’s impoverished but resource-rich south.