China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Asia's biggest refiner, posted first-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates as oil demand rose in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Net income rose to 20.6 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion), or 0.236 yuan a share, from a restated 16.5 billion yuan, or 0.187 yuan, a year earlier, according to international standards, the company known as Sinopec said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday. That compares with a 19.9 billion-yuan median profit forecast of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Sinopec boosted fuel output and halted exports this month to ensure domestic supply as high crude costs and government price controls caused private refiners to cut back on production, its parent company China Petrochemical Corp, known as Sinopec Group, said on April 19.

"Sinopec will benefit from China's consumption growth over the long term," Qiu Xiaofeng, an analyst at Beijing-based Galaxy Securities Co, said before the earnings announcement.

China's economy expanded 9.7 percent in the first quarter, boosting demand for energy in the country.