SINGAPORE - CEFC International, a Singapore-listed trader of petrochemical, and fuel oil and petroleum products, said on Thursday it is partnering Rizhao Port Group to build and operate oil storage facilities in Rizhao Port in China's Shandong province.

CEFC unit Hong Kong CEFC Petrochemical & Energy will set up a joint venture with Rizhao Port Group subsidiary Rizhao Port Oil Terminal, the company said in a statement.

The project is estimated to cost 700 million yuan (S$141.3 million) and the facilities will have a total storage capacity of 600,000 cubic metres, CEFC added.

The joint venture company will have an initial registered capital of 350 million yuan. CEFC will take a 49 per cent interest in the joint venture, while Rizhao Port Group will hold the rest.

The venture is in line with the group's expansion plans, CEFC said.

"The entry into the oil storage business is a major milestone for CEFC," said the company's executive chairman and chief executive Zang Jian Jun.

"We view this synergistic partnership with Rizhao Port Group as an extension of our turnaround story, where we have successfully restructured CEFC's business by moving from the previous loss-making beauty product business to a new strategic focus in the more profitable oil trading business."

CEFC, which previously sold beauty products under the name of Sun East Group, entered the petrochemical and fuel oil and petroleum products trading business in late 2012.

Rizhao port is China's ninth largest port and the second-biggest in Shandong.

Rizhao Port Oil Terminal is currently the only company that owns and operates crude oil and fuel oil storage facilities within the Rizhao port. It also owns and operates the existing infrastructure of the Rizhao port, including utilities supply and related logistics support.