By Wan Zhihong

Sinochem Corporation's profit jumped 62 percent to a record high while sales climbed 23 percent in the first four months of the year.

The Beijing-based company's 2006 profit rose 27 percent to 4 billion yuan from a year earlier. It aims to increase profit to over $1 billion within three years.

"The quick development comes from our clear business strategy. After experiencing the hard times of late 1990s, we have started the business integration for further growth," said Liu Deshu, Sinochem's president and CEO .

Established in 1950, Sinochem mainly engaged in the international trade of petroleum, fertilizers and chemicals in the past, and now the company has transformed from foreign trade business to the entire industrial chain of petroleum, fertilizers and chemicals as its core businesses.

Now the company has become one of the four major State-owned oil companies and the largest fertilizer importer and phosphorus compound fertilizer manufacturer in China. It is also one of the nation's largest chemical companies.

"We have been expanding our presence in both upstream and downstream businesses in these three sectors. They have become the most important contributor to growth," Liu said.

"With the development of core businesses, Sinochem has also made remarkable advances in other fields such as finance and logistics."

The company went through its hardest period in 1998, Liu said. Since then, Sinochem has been exploring ways to become a leading sales and marketing service provider.

Sinochem is now one of the four largest oil companies in China and imports and transports about 40 million tons of crude oil annually.

"While consolidating the oil trade business, we have also actively extended into other parts of oil business," Liu said. "It includes exploration and production, trade and distribution at home and abroad, oil storage service and oil refining."

"We will continue to strengthen the cooperation with worldwide oil trade partners, increase the new oil project development and improve the sales network of our oil products," Liu adds.

In 2005 Sinochem listed its fertilizer business in Hong Kong , becoming the first Chinese fertilizer company listed in Hong Kong. The listed company then changed its name from Sinochem Hong Kong Holdings Limited to Sinofert Holdings Limited to better illustrate its business.

The company operates an annual volume of over 12 million tons of fertilizer, through a sales network covering the nation's main agricultural regions.

Research and development work is crucial to Sinochem's development, especially in the medical, agrichemicals and chemical industries, Liu said.

Sinochem recently merged with Shenyang Research Institute of the Chemical Industry, which is active in the research and development of fine chemicals such as agrichemicals, dyestuffs, intermediates, adjuvant and related technology.