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Refining business posts huge loss

By Wan Zhihong (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-25 07:51

Asia's largest refiner, Sinopec Group said yesterday it incurred a loss of 114.4 billion yuan ($16.75 billion) in its refining business in 2008.

The huge loss was due to the price differential between higher international crude and lower domestic refined oil rates last year, the company said.

The Beijing-based Sinopec Group processed 173 million tons of crude oil last year. It also imported 3.6 million tons of refined oil products in the period.

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Sinopec's listed arm, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, said in its 2008 annual report that it had incurred a 61.5 billion yuan loss in its refining business last year. The business had received government subsidies worth 40.5 billion yuan.

Analysts said Sinopec's refining business would see better returns this year due to the more stable oil prices.

Liu Gu, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities in Shenzhen, yesterday told China Daily that she expected its pre-tax earnings to be around 50 billion yuan this year.

Sinopec's profits will grow by around 100 percent this year compared to 2008, she said.

Liu said international crude oil prices will have the biggest impact on the three companies' business performance but other factors such as windfall taxes may also play a role.