OREANDA-NEWS. September 25, 2014. Sinopec Corp is planning to jointly operate 300 of its convenience stores with Taiwan's Ruentex Group - a move that is likely to enhance the appeal of its massive fuel retail unit in which it is planning to offload a minority stake.

The state-run oil giant has shortlisted 37 bidding consortia for a holding of up to 30 percent that could raise as much as USD20 billion. It is expected to choose a winning bidder by end-September. Sinopec and Ruentex have already started jointly managing eight stores in Shanghai and daily revenue at the stores rose nearly 50 percent during a trial operation in August, the state-run China Securities Journal reported, citing an unidentified source from Sinopec.

Under a pact signed earlier this year, the two firms will cooperate on merchandise procurement to cut costs. They are also looking into potential e-commerce co-operation, the business daily said. Sinopec, which has more than 30,000 petrol stations, operates over 23,000 convenience stores under the Easy Joy brand. Ruentex operates about 600 convenience stores under the C-Store brand in China.

The report did not mention a timeframe for the cooperation in managing the 300 stores. Representatives for Sinopec were not immediately available for comment. Sinopec will also team up with Fosun Pharma to launch a 24-hour service selling over-the-counter medicine and magazines soon, the paper said.

Unlike in Western markets, where non-fuel businesses - convenience stores and services like fast food or car washing - can account for more than half of a fuel station's profits, more than 99 percent of Sinopec's retail sales come from petrol. Ruentex also runs over 300 hypermarts in China under Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, a joint venture with France's Groupe Auchan.