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SINGAPORE, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Independent refiners in China have received their first batch of crude oil import quotas for 2026 that can be used for cargoes arriving by the end of the year, trade sources said on Thursday.

The release of the fresh quotas is expected to boost crude imports by the world’s largest oil importer and ease a supply glut.

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Among the refiners, Hengli Petrochemical received a quota to import 2 million metric tons (40,000 barrels per day) of crude, said two of the sources with knowledge of the matter.

Rongsheng Petrochemical was permitted to import 750,000 tons, while Shenghong Petrochemical and Hongrun Petrochemical received quotas of 120,000 tons and 530,000 tons, respectively, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

A source at another independent refiner said the company expected to receive official notification later on Thursday.

Tallies from trade sources showed that quotas of about 8 million tons have been issued to 21 refiners so far, up from 6.04 million tons issued in November 2024.

China’s commerce ministry, which regulates crude oil import quotas, did not immediately respond to a Reuters fax message to seek comment.

Last month, the ministry set the crude import quota for non-state trade at 257 million tons for 2026, unchanged from 2025.

Beijing is expected to dispatch the remaining quota for 2026 early next year, one of the sources said.

“The new issuances are expected to lift prices for prompt Iranian, Venezuelan, and Russian cargoes and help clear part of the floating storage,” Kpler’s senior analyst Xu Muyu wrote in a report on Thursday.

“The broader oil market is also set to find some support, although growing scepticism over US sanctions and lingering oversupply concerns are likely to keep persistent downward pressure on Dubai prices,” she added, referring to the Middle East crude price benchmark.

In October, the shortage of import quotas and tightening Western sanctions curbed China’s imports, leading to deeper discounts for sanctioned oil and a surge in the volume of oil stored on board ships in Asian waters.

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Impact of overlooking people risks

When people risks are overlooked or not mitigated during an M&A transaction—either before Day 1 or in the critical months that follow—the deal almost immediately starts to lose value. Leadership teams that haven’t aligned on purpose, priorities and decision rights create confusion that cascades through the organisation. Employees receive mixed messages, collaboration stalls and legacy ways of working persist far longer than intended. This slows execution, delays synergies and erodes the energy needed to bring two companies together with confidence and momentum.

Just as damaging is the impact on culture and talent. Unaddressed cultural differences quickly turn into “us versus them” behaviours, while uncertainty drives high-performers and client-facing talent to leave. Without clarity on roles, accountability and the new operating model, productivity drops, customer relationships are disrupted and operational risks increase. Ultimately, failing to proactively manage people risks leads to value leakage, slower transformation and a combined business that struggles to realise the strategic intent of the deal.

Top 3 tips for people risk mitigation in M&A deals

Practical early action is critical to manage people risks and ensure a smooth transaction.

1. Critical role of Chief People Officer: Remember that the Chief People Officer is also the Chief Value Preservation Officer. The CPO should sit alongside the CEO and deal leads from the earliest planning phase to oversee retention strategies, organisation design and culture integration.
2. Conduct early HR and culture diagnostics: Use interviews to support HR due diligence (employment contracts, payroll, policies), culture heatmaps, skills mapping, organisational structures, RACIs and leadership assessments to identify critical roles, retention risks and cultural friction points.
3. Plan, communicate and execute: In the face of uncertainty and unknown people risks, develop scenario plans to identify key risks and mitigation strategies, e.g. for retention, redundancy and leadership blends. Open and timely communication is essential to facilitating a smooth transition and preserve institutional knowledge.

The current M&A market activity indicates that scale matters, but so does execution. Buyers and sellers must adapt: deploy disciplined pricing, embed deeper diligence, front‑load financing and make people and regulatory workstreams central to deal planning. These strategies can enhance deal resilience and help convert transactions into sustainable value — protecting returns not just at signing, but well into long‑term integration.

Learn more

Whether you’re a buyer or seller, about to enter into or considering an M&A transaction, working with the right experts can help you derisk and stay ahead of the game. If you’d like to learn more about your transactional risks or have questions about any of the above, please contact a Marsh Private Equity and M&A Services specialist.

This transaction, which mobilizes a total of EUR115 million in equity, marks a new milestone in the partnership initiated in 2019 with the investment of WCP’s leveraged buyout (LBO) WCP#3 fund in Sapian.

The continuation fund, dedicated to Sapian, will support the company’s ambitious growth strategy, particularly through future external growth operations. New investors, including Montana Capital Partners as lead investor, as well as several family offices, are joining the capital alongside existing investors. Weinberg Capital Partners also contributed to financing this transaction, which represents the sixth investment of WCP’s LBO Fund #4.

Jules Lecoeur, partner at A&O Shearman, said: “Continuation funds have become an essential tool for private equity firms and a key driver of secondary transactions. This transaction demonstrates our ability to drive single asset GP-led transactions tailored to the needs of financial investors and management teams.”

Founded in 2019 following the carve-out of the “Hygiene and Prevention” division of the ISS Group, Sapian now employs over 1,500 people across 41 branches in France and anticipates revenue exceeding EUR155m in 2025.

A&O Shearman advised Weinberg Capital Partners on all transactional aspects with a team including partner Jules Lecoeur, associates Alexia Monne, Yasmine Benhmida, Fatima Ahamada and Aresse Chegra on M&A aspects; partner Thomas Roy, senior associate Jonas Brucker, associates Baudouin Harou and Maxime Silly on financing aspects; partner Charles del Valle, senior associate Ageu Pires and associate Ryan Ceglia on tax aspects; as well as partner Olivier Picquerey and associate Marie Chauvat on employment law aspects.

Partner, Ethan Tan has been recognised for his work in aviation as a recipient of the 2026 Lexology Index Client Choice Award. Winners will be celebrated at a special awards dinner in 2026. 

The Client Choice Awards honour the world’s leading lawyers and consulting experts who excel in client care, with only 5% of ranked practitioners selected, as voted for by corporate counsel. This recognition is awarded to those who add real value to clients’ businesses above and beyond others in the market. 

Ethan’s success is a testament to his dedication and deep understanding of the aviation industry, consistently delivering practical solutions and trusted advice to his clients. 

After the surge in inflation in 2021-2023, the return to price stability and a more challenging global environment have altered the monetary picture and present the ECB with new questions. In this paper, we discuss three of them: how to define an ‘equilibrium’ monetary stance; how to deal with divergent national inflation rates; and how to navigate the forces shaping global exchange rates, in particular the euro’s. We assess the current ECB monetary stance to be broadly adequate, but we see challenges both in the persistence of cross-country inflation rate differences and in the appreciation of the euro. 

 

This paper was prepared at the request of the ECON Committee of the European Parliament. 

The Brand Group Core within the Volkswagen Group – the organizational unit including the volume brands Volkswagen, Škoda, SEAT&CUPRA and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – is strategically reorienting its production and establishing a high-performance regional production network.

As a first step, André Kleb, to date Head of Planning and Production Technology of the Volkswagen brand, is to assume responsibility for the regional management of production and logistics as the Chief Production Officer for the Iberian Peninsula with effect from January 1, 2026. In the spirit of overall cross-brand responsibility, this newly created function will report to Christian Vollmer, Member of the Board of Management for Production & Logistics of the Volkswagen brand and member of the extended Group Executive Board, and also to Markus Haupt, CEO SEAT&CUPRA.

The new structure for the Iberian Peninsula will include all the plants of the Volkswagen Group in Spain and Portugal. Overarching functions such as central planning, production steering, project and start-of-production management as well as logistics will be anchored within the regional management.

In connection with the reorganization, Thomas Hegel Gunther, currently Managing Director and plant manager of Volkswagen Autoeuropa, is to succeed André Kleb as new Head of Planning and Production Technology of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in Wolfsburg.

Anabel Andión Lomero, to date the Head of the Pre-Series Center at SEAT&CUPRA in Spain, will become Managing Director and plant manager of Volkswagen Autoeuropa in Portugal with effect from March 1, 2026.