China's Best Managed Companies

CNOOC firmed as the investors' mainland corporation of choice as it improved on 2003's showing, winning five top positions. In addition to taking the best oil and gas company in Asia for the first time, CNOOC picked up the best managed company, best corporate governance, best investor relations and best CFO for Mark Qiu in 2004.

With a recently announced increase in net income of 18.2% to $3.4 billion and a bonus HK$0.18 special dividend to be released to shareholders, investor faith in the growth opportunities of CNOOC are bullish to say the least. This is the area of the poll in which investors believed CNOOC excelled in.

"CNOOC have the advantage of being located in a strategically located area and country with rapidly increasing wealth," concluded one investor.

"They have an outstanding management team who will jump at growth opportunities." However, results driven by high commodity prices and managerial strategy weren't the only motivating factor on the minds of investors.

Transparency of management and a committed investor relations department were two strong areas of improvement instituted by CNOOC over the past 12 months.

"We are seeing consistent openness of management and investor relations to field questions and provide answers," says one fund manager.

Fellow Beijing oil and gas rivals PetroChina pulled one feather out of CNOOC's cap, earning top spot on the most committed to strong dividend policy category. China Resources Enterprises' Francis Kwong and Global Bio-Chem's Vicky Yu disrupted an oil and gas clean sweep by sharing the best IR representative award.