China's largest oil producer, PetroChina, has reported sales of
655 million yuan (91 million U.S. dollars) in non-oil business at
its filling stations last year.
The state-owned company did not report a profit figure, but said
that it would "achieve an overall increase in profitability by
2010".
From 2002 to 2007, the state-owned oil giant built up non-oil
services at 2,940 filling stations. These efforts included
convenience stores, fast food and car-washing services.
PetroChina said that it aimed to provide non-oil services at
one-third of its 18,846 filling stations by 2010.
"This is a new kind of service and it's in line with our
strategy and development," said Jiang Jiemin, general manager of
China National Petroleum Corporation, the parent of PetroChina.
PetroChina's net profits for the first half of 2007 stood at
81.83 billion yuan, up 1.4 percent from the first half of 2006.
(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2008)
