MOVES-China's newest refiner Yulong hires ex-PetroChina trading exec as Singapore GM

SINGAPORE, Dec 14 (Reuters) - China's newest refiner and petrochemical producer Yulong Petrochemical Corp has hired a former trading executive of state major PetroChina as general manager for its newly-established Singapore trading unit, according to five persons familiar with the matter.

Xia Hongwei, a veteran with PetroChina's trading vehicle PetroChina International (PCI) who served as the managing director of PCI's Singapore operation for nearly 20 years till late 2019, was hired by Yulong to lead the refiner's oil and petrochemicals trading business in Singapore.

Yulong Petrochemical (Singapore) Pte was incorporated in November, according to Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, which lists Yulong Petrochemical's Hong Kong unit as its shareholder.

A Yulong representative did not immediately comment. Xia confirmed his move but did not comment further.

Yulong Petrochemical, based in China's refining hub Shandong province, is 51% owned by private Chinese aluminium smelter Shandong Nanshan Group, 46.1% owned by state-controlled Shandong Energy Group and the rest by two local entities.

The company is building a $20-billion complex in Longkou, Yantai city comprising a 400,000 barrels-per-day crude oil refinery and two units producing a combined 3 million metric tons a year of ethylene.

Yulong, which is expected to start operating the new plant in the second half of 2024, recently entered a preliminary agreement with Saudi Aramco for the Middle Eastern oil giant to buy a 10% stake in the company and supply crude oil under a long-term deal.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Florence Tan; Editing by Susan Fenton)