China’s oil companies may use dividends to calm the fears of investors on the heels of the drop in energy prices. Noting the dip in the price of oil, Tian Miao, an analyst at North Square Blue Oak Ltd. in Beijing said: “At current oil prices, China’s big oil companies have basically nothing but reasonable dividend payouts to keep current investors and attract new ones,” adding that paying dividends will be an added strain to the companies, but will nevertheless be necessary if those companies want to remain attractive to investors. Shares in the country’s three largest oil companies have managed to recover this year as prices have rebounded, but are still down 30 percent from 2014 when oil prices were at their peak. Analysts at Citigroup noted that PetroChina has the potential to break even this year, making money on one-off gains. The company may […]