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from chinabiz newsletter <http://chinabiz.org/test/ticker.asp> Oil giants Wild West fight over petrol stations 26/04/2002 Shanghai - China's two oil giants Sinopec <http://www.sinopec.com.cn/english/index.jsp> and Petrochina <http://www.cnpc.com.cn/english/index_e.htm> are involved in violent battles over control of petrol stations along important highways, Financial Times (FT) reported on Thursday. The companies, who have the exclusive rights to build new petrol stations in China, are using armed gangs to secure their position, FT writes. In the central Henan province, gangs backed by Sinopec attacked seven different stations and stopped work at sixteen others. One of the worst battles occurred late last month, when Sinopec employees with iron rods attacked Petrochina workers who were renovating 50 new stations along a new highway. A police officer who witnessed one of the battles at a petrol station told FT: "It was the most violent scene I have ever seen in my life. The fighters smashed windows, doors, took away equipment and also drove construction workers out of their rooms with fire extinguishers and beat them with iron rods." According to the report, Sinopec is furious over an agreement between Petrochina and the local highway construction company to place its franchises along the road. Currently Sinopec rules the market in Henan, where it owns half of the province's 8,000 stations. The retail market is a promising market to both companies. Local media estimated sales had a potential annual net profit of around 200 million Renminbi (US$24 million) in the 50 stations, which were center of the fight in Henan. Sinopec and Petrochina, both listed in New York, together own about half of the 80,000 or more petrol stations in China. The firms are involved in setting up joint ventures with other international giants. Sinopec has agreements to build 500 stations with BP Amoco, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. A possible deal between Petrochina and BP Amoco, which are currently negotiating plans to manage 800 stations in a separate joint venture, might affect the Sinopec-BP Amoco agreement, FT reports. The government granted Petrochina and Sinopec sole rights to build new petrol stations before the market becomes open to foreign investors by 2005. The companies declined comment on the violent struggle, saying both the police and local and central government are investigating the incident. _____ Copyright (C) 2002 Chinabiz.org. All rights reserved. http://www.chinabiz.org _____ ===== Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace. Weekly peace walks around Lake Merritt in Oakland. Starts & ends at the colonnade between Grand & Lakeshore Avenues, 3 P.M., every Sunday. Info: (510)763-8712, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or http://www.webwm.com/LMNOP __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
