CPC plans jointly operated Fujian gas stations

Taiwan’s CPC Corp. plans to work with Beijing-based China National Petroleum Corp. to set up and operate 200 gas stations in the mainland Chinese province of Fujian, the state-run company said Aug. 6.

The investment plan will be sent to the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs in the near future and is expected to be implemented by 2014 at the earliest, the CPC said.

A CPC official noted that Taiwan’s market scale is relatively small and that although the company enjoys a 75 percent share of the domestic market, it is required under government policy to maintain low prices, in fact the lowest in Asia, thereby making it difficult to turn a profit.

The company has therefore been in talks with CNPC on jointly opening and running gas stations in Fujian using dual branding, he added.

Around 1,500 new gas stations are expected to open in the southeast coastal province under Beijing’s national development plan, the official pointed out, adding that the CPC and CNPC stations will be set up in Fuzhou, Xiamen and other locations.

CPC will hold a 49 percent stake in the planned venture, with a phased investment approach to be adopted, he said.