Pemex Likely To Form Energy Fund With Chinese Firms

Mexico's national oil company Pemex said on Wednesday it is in the final stages of negotiating to form an investment fund with two Chinese companies that could eventually finance up to $5 billion in Pemex energy infrastructure projects.

The fund created by Pemex as well as Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes and SPF Capital Hong Kong Limited will start with $1 billion and expects to finance up to an additional $4 billion in energy projects, Pemex said in a filing with the Mexican stock exchange.

The company did not detail when the fund will launch or any specific energy infrastructure projects it would finance.

A Pemex representative said the negotiations are nearly complete and a deal was close.

Mexico's Congress passed a sweeping energy reform late last year championed by President Enrique Pena Nieto that promises to lure billions of dollars in new investment into the country's struggling oil, gas and electricity sectors.

So-called secondary laws needed to implement the reform and spell out key regulatory details are expected to be taken up by lawmakers in a special session next month.

(Reporting by Adriana Barrera; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)