Ever since China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd (CNOOC) withdrew its bid for Unocal earlier this month, its market value has risen by some US$7 billion, CNOOC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fu Chengyu was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the Beijing Morning Post.
   
The withdrawal is proper not only for the capital market, but also for shareholders of both Unocal and CNOOC, Fu said.
   
According to the newspaper, this is the first time that Fu has commented on CNOOC's bid withdrawal.
   
CNOOC announced last week that it had dropped its US$18.5 billion bid for Unocal, the US-based energy resource company, putting an end to the 40-day acquisition drama that triggered an unexpected political storm in the United States. CNOOC's withdrawal cleared the way for Chevron Corp's takeover plan.
   
"We can see from later market performances that CNOOC made a good decision to withdraw," Fu said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2005)