As Sri Lanka continues to remain in the Chinese debt trap, the biggest petrochemical company in China, Sinopec, is likely to start retail operations in the Lankan fuel market, local media said citing sources. The sources said that Sinopec is likely to enter Sri Lankan market for importing, distributing and selling petroleum products.
This comes as Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers in the month of June approved a proposal to allow more companies from oil-producing nations to import oil and start retail operations in Sri Lanka.The proposal was tabled by Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera.
It is pertinent to note that the economic crisis which is the worst in Sri Lanka’s history has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like fuel. Long queues at fuel stations in Sri Lanka are the new normal and prices fluctuate subject to availability.
The economy of the country is bracing for a sharp contraction due to the unavailability of basic inputs for production, an 80 percent depreciation of the currency since March 2022, coupled into a lack of foreign reserves, and the country’s failure to meet its international debt obligations.
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