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CNOOC-Nexen, State-Controlled Enterprises and Canadian Foreign Investment Policies: Adapting to Divergent Modernization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2014

Geoffrey Hale
Geoffrey Hale*
Affiliation:
University of Lethbridge
*
Department of Political Science, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge AB Canada T1K 3M4, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article examines the evolving debate over takeover bids by foreign state-owned and influenced enterprises (SOEs) in the context of CNOOC's successful 2012 acquisition of Nexen Inc., historical debates over foreign investment in Canada and the ongoing adaptation of Canadian trade and investment policies to global shifts in economic activity and power. It views SOE-related policy changes as responses to four broad factors: Canada's adaptation to changing global investment patterns as a small, open economy, efforts to diversify Canada's trade and investment relations while balancing domestic regional and sectoral interests, the extension of trade-related principles of reciprocity to investment policies and competition among governmental and economic interests in the allocation of discretion in corporate governance and related regulatory policies.

Résumé

Cet article examine l'évolution du débat sur les offres de reprise d'entreprises par des sociétés appartenante aux or influencées par des états etrangers dans le contexte de l'acquisition de Nexen Inc. en 2012. Il envisage aussi les implications des débats historiques des investissements étrangers au Canada et de l'adaptation des politiques canadiens du commerce et d'investissement à l’étranger aux changements mondiaux de l'activité économique et de la puissance. Il discute des modifications apportées à la politique en tant que réponses à quatre grands facteurs: l'adaptation du Canada à l'évolution des investissements mondiaux en tant que petite économie ouverte; les efforts visant à diversifier les échanges commerciaux et d'investissement du Canada tout en équilibrant les intérêts régionaux et sectoriels nationaux; l'extension des principes de réciprocité du commerce pour les politiques d'investissement; et les concurrences entre les intérêts gouvernementaux et économiques dans la repartition du pouvoir discrétionnaire en matière de gouvernance d'entreprise et les politiques réglementaires connexes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 349 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2014 

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