Sinopec set up its lubricant business as a subsidiary company last week. The action is intended to give the lubricant operations an increased level of autonomy and to attract private investment.
Sinopec Lubricant Co., Ltd., which officially opened on July 2, is wholly funded by Sinopec and is the largest lube company in Asia. It refines base stocks, develops and produces various types of lubes and has an extensive sales network in China. It also has a subsidiary in Singapore to take care of its businesses abroad.
As an independent company we are able to attract investors to raise funds, SL base oil manager Zeng Haiying told Lube Report Asia. She added that the company will seek an initial public offering as soon as possible.
So being independent is good for our development in the long run, although there are few changes now, she said.
Sinopec made it clear in a statement that the restructure is to attract external capital to push the development and globalization of its lube business and eventually make SL a top-level lube company in the world.
SL supplies a wide range of lubes under the brand Great Wall. It has a rich portfolio of engine lubes, including Justar for automobiles, Tulux for diesel engines and Jie Bao for motorcycles. It claims to hold more than 30 percent of the Chinese market for highly refined lubes.
Sinopec has also turned other divisions to subsidiaries, including Hong Kong-listed Sinopec Engineering, a provider of engineering services for the petroleum industry.