The Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油) has lost about 15 percent of its domestic oil market share since Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPC, 台塑石油) entered the market last September, breaking a monopoly that CPC enjoyed for decades, a CPC executive said yesterday.
"In terms of sales volume, we have lost around 15 percent of the market. ... In terms of the number of gas stations, we have lost 18 percent," the executive said.
The figure exceeds what CPC had predicted for FPC's penetration by the end of last year of 10 percent.
But state-run CPC still maintains that its competitor ultimately won't be able to bite off any more than 35 percent of the market although FPC is hoping to take at least 50 percent.
CPC currently provides gasoline and diesel to 1,690 gas stations around the island, of which 604 are CPC-owned, while the remaining 1,086 are operated on a franchise basis, the official said.
FPC provides gasoline and diesel to 361 gas stations islandwide, of which seven are FPC-owned.
Both companies have aggressive sales campaigns in an attempt to win over motorists and have given away free vehicles and gasoline vouchers.
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) presented a written report on CPC to the legislature on Monday detailing measures the government and the company must take to strengthen its position.
These included forging ahead with the privatization of CPC, which hinges on passage of the Petroleum Management Law (
Implementing these measures would make CPC better positioned to cope in a changing marketplace, said Lin.
That marketplace was forever changed last May when FPC was granted permission to sell diesel, kerosene and other oil products. Gasoline was added to the list in September.
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