UBS under fire from Nobel winners over Darfur

October 20, 2007 (LONDON) — Human rights campaigners including the actress Mia Farrow and three winners of the Nobel Peace Price have called on UBS AG (UBS) to pull out of PetroChina Co. Ltd.’s (PTR) $5 billion Shanghai floatation over the oil giant’s links with Sudan, The Times of London reported Saturday.

More than a dozen international luminaries have attacked the Swiss banking group for its role as a lead underwriter on the forthcoming initial public offering, according to a letter seen by the newspaper.

The letter urges UBS to ask the China National Petroleum Company, which holds 88% of PetroChina, either to suspend its activities in the country or implement a corporate governance policy to “mitigate the impact of its operations on innocent civilians in Sudan,” according to the report.

(Dow Jones)