Sinochem to acquire South Korean firm
By Zhang Jin (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-18 09:16

Even if growth slows down in the remainder of the year because of the government cooling-down measures, China still has a big appetite for oil products.

Sinochem is following the nation's biggest oil and petrochemicals companies, including PetroChina and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, in buying assets overseas to help meet demand.

Inchon Oil has the capacity to process 275,000 barrels of crude oil into chemicals a day.

Its annual capacity is 14 million tons, some 2 million less than China's largest oil refinery Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co.

Inchon Oil, the smallest of South Korea's five oil refiners, has been in court receivership since defaulting on loans in 2001.

Analysts also say the move is part of Sinochem's ongoing efforts to diversify its business scope in recent years.

The company was a pure trader, which monopolized oil trade in China for 40 years until 1993.

Squeezed by newcomers in the trade sector, the firm is gearing up to tap the up and downstream industries including oil exploration, refinery and sales.

The purchase is a concrete step towards the company's ambition of covering a whole oil business chain.

The company's licence for sales of refined oil products is still pending.

Currently, only China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, PetroChina and a few non-State companies are allowed to sell refined oil products.

As a large and diversified player, Sinochem witnessed steady profit rises in the past months.

Sinochem International Co Ltd, its listed arm in Shanghai, posted a net profit of 126.6 million yuan (US$15.31 million) in the first quarter, up about 94 per cent year on year.

Its main business profit rose to 256 million yuan (US$30.9 billion), increasing 57.6 million yuan (US$6.96 billion) compared to the same period the previous year.

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