China’s CNPC enters Myanmar fuelling market

The oil giant plans to create a networks of petrol stations in the South-East Asian country as it looks to invest in foreign markets.

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China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) will become the first major foreign investor to enter Myanmar as it unveils plans to develop a petrol station network, reports Reuters.

The plan to open dozens of petrol stations in the South-East Asian country is part of new strategy to invest in foreign markets due to the saturation of the Chinese fuelling sector.

The Chinese giant has identified Myanmar as a key country for growth as it still has minimal presence of foreign investment but fuel demand is growing by 10% annually.

Instead of the PetroChina brand, CNPC’s first fuel station in Myanmar features the bright red logo of its wholly owned unit Singapore Petroleum (SPC), a refinery acquired by CNPC in 2009.

The move follows a similar but larger investment in Brazil, where CNPC’s global trading and refining unit bought 30% of a leading Brazilian fuel dealer last year.