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GS Caltex exports knowhow of operating gas stations to Vietnam
Huh Cheol-hong, second from left, vice president of GS Caltex Business Innovation, and Hur Joon-hong, center, executive vice president of GS Caltex Lubricants Business, pose with Nguyen Van Canh, third from left, president of Petrolimex Saigon, after a meeting at Petrolimex Saigon's office in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss their business agreement in this photo provided by GS Caltex, Friday. / Courtesy of GS Caltex
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
GS Caltex will export its knowhow of gas station operations including its IT service infrastructure and other related technologies to Vietnam to help upgrade the Southeast Asian country's gas station operations, the Korean company said Friday.
Toward that end, GS Caltex, a major oil refiner and core subsidiary of GS Group, signed a business agreement recently with Petrolimex Saigon, a subsidiary of the Vietnamese state-owned oil company Petrolimex.
Petrolimex is Vietnam's top oil company in terms of sales, operating more than 5,200 gas stations. It is the only company that operates gas stations in all 58 provinces and five municipalities of Vietnam.
Petrolimex has also led the Vietnamese gas market in terms of technologies and services, introducing the country's first self-filling gas station in Ho Chi Minh City in January.
Under the agreement, the Korean company will provide the Vietnamese company with its knowhow and expertise with operating gas stations as well as IT service infrastructure and related technologies such as fueling, maintenance and car washes.
GS Caltex is also considering bringing its car maintenance franchise, autoOasis, operated by its subsidiary GS Mbiz, to the Vietnamese market in a bid to create new business opportunities in car-related businesses.
The two companies will continue to actively cooperate in developing a variety of offline businesses by utilizing GS Group's capabilities and assets such as GS25 convenience stores.
“This agreement provides us with an opportunity to enter the fast-growing Vietnamese market,” a GS Caltex official said. “Starting from Vietnam, we will continue to consider ways to expand our business to other ASEAN countries.”
Internally, GS Caltex has also made an effort to support its domestic partners.
On Wednesday, the company held a briefing session in Seoul, saying it plans to replace the materials and equipment it has imported with those developed by domestic partners.
This will contribute to speeding up the localization of materials and equipment, and help partners make inroads into global markets, it said.