Petrolimex sales down by 6%

State-owned Vietnam National Petroleum Corp. (Petrolimex) sold 3 million metric tons of petroleum products to the domestic market in the first six months this year, down 6% year-on-year, Chairman Vu Ngoc Hai said. According to Hai, Petrolimex imports petroleum every quarter and then sells the imported products the following quarter, adding that petrol sales in the first quarter were from materials imported in the fourth quarter of 2008 when the global petrol price was only US$40 to 42 per barrel. Due to the trading mechanism, Petrolimex made a net profit of 200 billion dong (US$11.23 million) from petrol sales in the first six months this year. (July 15, 2009)