Troubled Shanghai-based oil company CEFC China Energy Co. says it has dropped plans for a major expansion through Central Europe, following a statement from the Czech government that the company’s chairman has been sidelined amid an investigation in China. In a statement late Monday published by its Prague office, CEFC said it will no longer pursue plans to lift its stake to 50% in the Czech-Slovak holding company J&T Finance Group SE. The deal, valued at €800 million ($987 million) was signed almost two years ago in the presence of the Czech and Chinese presidents. It served as a sign of tightening links between the two nations , and would have made CEFC—China’s largest privately-owned oil company—the first Chinese entity to effectively control a bank in the European Union. But it hasn’t received needed regulatory approvals there, for reasons that remain unclear. A security guard stands at the entrance […]