Tokyo: Japan's trade ministry plans to submit a bill later this month, to propose removing restrictions it imposes on the oil refining sector, a ministry official said. The bill will call for lifting supply-demand controls, price limits and licence requirements to enter the refining sector, the official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said.Under the current law, the Government outlines an oil products supply scheme based on demand projections, and refiners must make production plans in accordance with the figures.
The Government also requires a licence for entering the refining business, and sets standard oil product sales prices, in the event of possible sharp fluctuations in prices. "The move will be completing Government plans to deregulate the oil industry. If the bill passes Parliament, the new law will take effect during the 2001/02 business year (to March 2002)," the official said.
Current legislation may be acting as a buffer for the industry amid intensified competition, but the new law will likely reverse that, spurring foreign companies and trade houses to enter the refining business, he said.
(Reuters)
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