Petronas aims to be in the top 5 for lubes

Petronas Dagangan Bhd, the retail arm of Malaysia’s state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), aims to grow its lubricant business into one of the top five in the world and the largest in Malaysia by 2016, according to Mohd Shobri A. Bakar, general manager of the lube division. Currently, the company ranks 13th in the world and second in Malaysia, selling about 600 million liters of lubricants annually. To enter the top five position, it would need to sell about 1.5 billion liters a year. The company plans to launch an aggressive marketing plan targeted at car manufacturers, workshops and service centers. According to Bakar, for its international business, “the focus will be on the growth in Asia and South America as well as some parts of North America.” (April 6,2011)