China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) won approval from shareholders on Tuesday for up to 23 billion yuan (3.37 billion U.S. dollars) of convertible bonds issuance plan to support refinery renovation and pipeline construction.

According to the approved proposal at Sinopec's annual general meeting, the six-year bonds can be converted into A shares of Sinopec on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Wang Xinhua, Chief Financial Officer of Sinopec, said the company's annual capital expenditure, excluding the investment amount for overseas merger and acquisition activities, will be around 120 billion yuan (17.57 billion U.S. dollars) in the next two years.

"Sinopec will rely on its own capital and multi-channel financing to support the expansion of primary business," Wang said, adding Sinopec's operating revenue has risen steadily supported by the rebounding macro economy.

In the first four months of 2010, the Hong Kong- and Shanghai-listed Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, posted a 23.1 percent growth of refined oil from the same period of last year, with average daily sales of 390,000 tonnes, said Su Shulin, chairman of Sinopec.

Su expected the sales volume to rise further in summer when the demand for oil peaks.

Share prices of Sinopec rose 1.7 percent to close at 5.97 HK dollars (about 76.5 U.S. cents) in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Tuesday while trading of its A shares in the Shanghai Stock Exchange was suspended due to the bond issue plan.

Sinopec's net profit rose by about 40 percent year-on-year to 15.785 billion yuan (2.31 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter.

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