CR Asia shares gain on deal for mainland venture with Sinopec

Shares in Convenience Retail Asia (CR Asia) climbed as much as 10.2 per cent in morning trading in Hong Kong on Thursday, after the retail arm of Li & Fung announced it will team up with Sinopec to operate petrol stations and convenience stores on the mainland.

CR Asia, which operates Circle K stores in Hong Kong, said in a filing to the stock exchange that it had entered into a preliminary agreement with Sinopec Marketing on Wednesday.

The company is expected to operate 10 petrol stations and Easy Joy convenience stores for Sinopec Marketing under a pilot programme in Guangzhou. If successful, the two sides will then consider expanding the programme to other districts in Guangdong under a new agreement, CR Asia said in the filing.

 Further service stations and stores in other parts of China could be added in the future, the company said.

CR Asia shares ended the morning session 8.5 per cent higher at HK$5.75. The Hang Seng Index was up 0.9 per cent.