China’s Sinopec ventures into Kenyan market with lubricants

China’s largest state-owned oil and gas company, Sinopec, has officially launched its lubricants in Kenya.

This makes Kenya the first country in East Africa for the company to operate in.

The company, which is listed at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and trades in Shanghai and New York Stock exchanges, is the world's third-largest.

The chemical producer brought key players during its official launch in November this year in a strategy aimed at penetrating into Kenya’s market.

Speaking during the launch Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi, the company’s Deputy General Manager Xia Peng noted that the firm will create job opportunities in Kenya.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

“In March 2019, Sinopec was named as one of the world’s best employers. This sets a track of the job opportunities the brand is looking at creating in the Kenyan market. The company has evolved for decades, enabling the evolution of its products. It is quite an honour to officially launch in Kenya through Bitutech Ltd,” Mr Peng said.

Kenya has a huge market for petroleum products with the oil sector dominated by local and international key players.

The sector is characterised by a large number of players who import, export, distribute and transport petroleum products. It is this market that Sinopec seeks to tap into with its lubricants.

RISING DEMAND

Sinopec has ventured into Kenya at a time when the market for automotive lubricants in Africa is seeing increasing demand as vehicle purchases across the region continue to rise.

Though the African market accounts for only six per cent of the global market, it is projected to grow rapidly in the forecast period up to 2029.

Economic and industrial growth in the automotive sector in African countries is fuelling the demand for automotive lubricants.

Sinopec has previously partnered with German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz AG which has been distributing its lubricants.