Foreign gas stations blocked

Foreign gas stations blocked

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia has decided not to issue any
more licenses to foreign oil companies to open new petrol
stations locally, government officials said on Thursday.

The decision, made at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, would
take effect immediately, they added.

Foreign oil firms said the decision came as a shock to them
especially as they had been aggressively expanding their retail
operations in Malaysia.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Muhyiddin Yassin
was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that no petrol firms
except Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas would now be allowed to
expand in the country.

Muhyiddin said the government would determine later plans to
reduce in stages foreign petrol companies' share of the market.

Royal Dutch/Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP Amoco, Caltex and Conoco
have a total of 2,024 petrol stations in the country, while state
oil firm Petronas has about 500.