OREANDA-NEWS. April 02, 2014. China's largest oil refiner said that it formed a subsidiary to operate its chain of convenience stores, as the company prepares to open up its lucrative fuel-marketing business to outside investors.

State-controlled China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, said the subsidiary, known as Sinopec Easy Joy Sales Co., would control the company's existing chain of 23,000 convenience stores, which are located at many of Sinopec's more than 30,000 retail fuel stations across China.

The move to separate Sinopec's convenience stores from its fuel-marketing operations came after the company said last month that it would allow outsiders to own up to 30% of its fuel-marketing business, which was applauded by many analysts and investors.

Last year, Beijing published a landmark reform blueprint last year calling for state-owned enterprises to bring in private investors in a bid to improve returns and efficiency.

Sinopec said in a statement that sales at its convenience stores, which sell fast food, candy and other items, reached 13.3 billion yuan (USD2.1 billion) last year, up from slightly more than one billion yuan in 2008--the first year most of the stores were open.

Simon Powell, head Asian-Pacific oil-and-gas analyst at broker CLSA, said last month in a note to investors that Sinopec's network of convenience stores was more than 10 times the size of that of 7-Eleven in China.

Mr. Powell said Sinopec's fuel-station network might be an attractive investment for companies outside of the oil-and-gas industry, such as e-commerce companies and convenience-store operators looking to quickly expand their sales-and-distribution networks.