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.