Polish state petrol company opens China branch

PKN ORLEN, a Polish state-owned petroleum company, announced on Thursday that it plans to open a Chinese office in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in east China. ORLEN China will initially focus on direct sale of motor oil, something the company has been doing through local partners since 2016.

"Starting ORLEN China is a strategic decision aimed at strengthening the position of the group within the promising Chinese market, as well as in neighboring countries," the press release of PKN ORLEN quoted Daniel Obajtek, the chairman of the company, as saying.

"We are currently exporting our products to 20 Asian countries. An important element is that besides being an expansion of our sales activities, ORLEN China can become a platform in Asia for our other products, including petrochemical products."

PKN ORLEN estimates that a direct sales approach could generate several times more operating profit within three years compared to the current indirect sales model. ORLEN China will conduct sales operation, including e-commerce, marketing, logistics and freight forwarding.

Over 2019, PKN ORLEN generated a turnover of 111 billion Polish Zloty (28 billion U.S. dollars), with total assets worth 71 billion Polish Zloty (17.89 billion dollars).