Bloomberg: Sinopec Working With Goldman Sachs For $30 Bln Unit Sale

(RTTNews) - China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNPMF.OB, SNP), popularly known as Sinopec, is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) on the sale of a stake in its retail assets, Bloomberg reported quoting people with knowledge of the matter.

Sinopec could raise as much as $30 billion by selling a 30 percent stake in its retail unit. The unit includes China's biggest network of fuel stations. Such a deal will be the biggest asset sale by a Chinese state-owned company.

China International Capital Corp. is also said to be advising Sinopec on asset restructuring across the group. Sinopec has more than 30,000 fuel stations.

The decision to offload assets comes after Premier Li Keqiang decided to infuse non-state capital in oil and power projects and accelerate development of mixed-ownership firms.

Chinese energy giants such as Sinopec and PetroChina Co. earn less on investments or have lower stock market returns than their peers in the West.

SNP closed down 0.14 percent on Wednesday at $90.17.