By Yifan Wang


Shares of Rongsheng Petro Chemical Co. soared Tuesday, after energy giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co. agreed to acquire a 10% stake in the Chinese refinery for 24.6 billion yuan ($3.6 billion).

The stock jumped 10%, the daily share-price gain limit in China, to CNY14.20 by the midday trading break. That put the company's shares on track for their highest closing level in about six months and their best one-day percentage increase in over a year.

The rally came after the Saudi oil giant, commonly known as Saudi Aramco, said Monday that it signed "definitive agreements" for the deal in a bid to expand its downstream operations in China. Aramco will make the stake purchase through a wholly owned unit, it said.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2023, and is subject to regulatory approvals, the Saudi company added.

In addition to the stake sale, the two companies also signed a long-term sales agreement, under which Aramco would supply 480,000 barrels per day of Arabian crude oil to Rongsheng affiliate Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co. Ltd.


Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-28-23 0058ET