Sinopec Group starts fuel sales promotion in northern China
Shanghai. August 18. INTERFAX-CHINA - China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group), China's largest fuel producer, launched a sales promotion on Aug. 17 in Beijing and other parts of northern China to boost local fuel sales, an analyst told Interfax on Aug. 18.
The promotion features the giveaway of small gifts such as bottled water and offers customers the chance to participate in a lottery to win a gift card for RMB 5,000 ($732.06) worth of fuel.
The recent typhoon and flooding in southern and eastern China has forced Sinopec Group to sell more fuel in the north, Bai Bing, an oil analyst with the Beijing Petroleum Exchange, said.
Another reason for the promotion is stagnant market demand, Bai said. "Although the market believes that the government will again hike fuel prices at the end of the month, the anticipation has not led to higher sales volumes."
At the beginning of this month, Sinopec Group's rival, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), started its own sales promotion in China's northern regions.
-TW