China, the world's second-biggest energy user, will increase next year's oil-product import quotas for private companies by 6 percent.

China will allow qualified independent oil companies to import 11.25 million metric tons of oil products, including gasoline, diesel, naphtha and fuel oil, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its Web site today. The quota for 2008 is 10.65 million tons, the ministry said in October.

China is boosting fuel imports to meet surging domestic demand. The move to raise the quotas is also part of China's efforts to open up its state-monopolized oil market in line with World Trade Organization obligations. The nation joined the WTO in December 2001.

Companies with a registered capital of more than 50 million yuan ($7.3 million) and have a fuel depot that is bigger than 10,000 tons can apply for an import quota, according to today's statement.

China will raise crude oil import quotas for private companies by 15 percent annually by 2010, Wu Guohua, deputy director at the ministry's policy research center, said in April 2007. The quota will be 19.15 million tons for 2008, 22 million tons for 2009 and 25.32 million tons for 2010, Wu said then.

To contact the reporter on this story: Winnie Zhu in Hong Kong at wzhu4@bloomberg.net

(Bloomberg, Aug 27, 2008)