China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (0386), also known as Sinopec, continued to be squeezed in 2007 by the combination of government price controls on finished products and high crude-oil import costs.
Analysts warn the oil giants performance this year hinges on how much relief the mainland government will provide.

We continue to view Sinopec as a cheap stock and reiterate our buy rating, but it remains a longer-term call, Deutsche Bank analyst David Clark said after the firm issued its 2007 results last week.

Net profit rose just 5.5 percent to 56.53 billion yuan (HK$63 billion) last year. ... Read full article