GS Caltex establishes corporate body in China

South Korea’s oil refinery GS Caltex announced Thursday that it has elevated its Beijing branch in China to a corporate body (GS Caltex China), which will be in the overall charge of the company’s businesses that are being operated in China. This move will enable GS Caltex’s Beijing branch to reshape itself so that it could expand its role from taking charge of the lubricant-oriented businesses towards the overall GS Caltex’s businesses operated in China. This new Chinese subsidiary will be in charge of 1.2 trillion won worth of the entire businesses (petrochemical products, aromatic and polymer productions and lubricants) running in China. GS Caltex’s export reliance on China is considerably high with more than 30 percent of its exports heading to China. With the company’s aim of securing its second largest consumption base in China’s local market, GS Caltex is working on steeping up its existing business operations while turning its eyes to establishment of business networks and development of localized marketing strategies in China GS Caltex made its first entry into China in 2003. The company has been operating aromatic plants, with an annual capacity of 1.1 million tons (t) by joining hands with Qingdoa Lidong Chemical since 2006. It has expanded its business scope into the petrochemical distribution after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Shandong Province for mutual cooperation in 2007. After this achievement, it constructed plants for polymer alloy products in Langfang and Suzhou, Hebei Province. GS Caltex is set to explore new business opportunities in China by utilizing this new corporate body. Currently, its business operations are being expanded to China’s leading economic zones in North China and East China.