PetroChina joint bid for Arrow at initial stage -chairman

HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - PetroChina's joint bid for Australia's Arrow Energy with Royal Dutch Shell is at an initial stage and has no timetable, PetroChina's chairman said.

Arrow Energy said earlier that the joint bid would give shareholders A$4.45 cash per share plus a share in a new entity in a deal worth at least A$3.3 billion ($3 billion).

PetroChina would increase capital spending this year with a focus on overseas investments, Chairman Jiang Jiemin told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament on Monday.

((Reporting by Alison Lui; Editing by Chris Lewis))

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