Chevron plays mentor to Malaysian entrepreneurs

Source from (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/chevron05/Article/

Published: October 05, 2012
By Rupinder Singh

CHEVRON Malaysia Ltd wants a significant number of the 100 new Caltex service stations it plans to open by 2015 to be under its "retailer owned, retailer operated" (RORO) programme.

Chevron Malaysia country chairman Jeremy Oh said the business model helps to expand its retail business by providing opportunities for potential partners to own and operate Caltex service stations.

Under the programme, retail partners have access to Chevron's retail business consultants, aggressive fuel marketing strategies, reliable supply chains, supporting business processes and retail business systems.

Out of 420 Caltex service stations currently, about 70 per cent have been opened under the RORO programme.

"We have been aggressively promoting our RORO programme over the last three years," Oh said after the launch of Caltex's regional social investment initiative, known as "Driving Change with Caltex" here yesterday.

It is learnt that to open a station under the RORO programme, prospective retailers should own or have identified a plot of land of at least 40,000 sq ft and have a capital of between RM1.5 million and RM2 million.

Oh said the business opportunities are offered in line with Chevron's efforts to have more local entrepreneurs to be involved in the downstream oil and gas industry in Malaysia.

Chevron will act as mentor or consultant to provide all the guidance and assistance needed by entrepreneurs to succeed in the businesses.

For 2012, Chevron aims to open at least 15 new stations, five of which are now up and running.

Meanwhile, the "Driving Change with Caltex" initiative kicked off in Malaysia with a mission to raise RM30,000 for the underprivileged school children in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

The first-of-its-kind community project show is a collaboration between Caltex and Fox to highlight social efforts across Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.