Sinopec Corp. Spins off Non-core Businesses      

Sinopec Corp. (SH: 600028) has finished a three-year disposal program for its non-core businesses.
   Department chiefs in Beijing were assigned to subsidiaries to review the disposal work since February 10th.
   Sinopec Corp. has spun off 722 non-core businesses involving investment and various operations between 2006 and the end of 2008, while retaining more than 1 200 investments considered closely linked with its core business.
   The businesses unloaded over the past three years include hotel, tourism, property and financials, which are miles apart from its main oil and gas businesses. The company also divested some chemical fiber, plastics and gas-stations operations which have something to do with oil and gas.
   In 2006 when the company initiated the cleanup campaign, Sinopec Corp. had more than 80 subsidiaries, either wholly-owned, holding or in the form of branches.
   "Sinopec Corp. is following what other international oil and gas giants have done," a petroleum sector scholar said. "To focus on core business has been proved the right strategy needed for an integrated global energy company."
    However, an official at Sinopec Group, parent of Sinopec Corp., said, "Although the disposal program has been completed for the listed company, the work for the group is still going on."
   "The global financial crisis will lead to more oil and gas assets being sold. For Sinopec Group, which wants to build up its upstream business, it must solve the problem of tight cash. So I anticipate the group to expedite disposing of its remaining non-core businesses," an industry insider said.