Sinopec Raises Dividend as Oil Rally Boosts Profit to Record

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. raised its dividend payout after half-year earnings jumped to a record, fueled by improving refining profits and a rebound in crude prices that brought its oil and gas exploration unit closer to breaking even. The world’s biggest refiner by capacity, known as Sinopec, proposed an interim dividend of 0.16 yuan a share, a 60 percent increase from the previous year, it said Sunday in stock exchange filings. Net income rose 52 percent to 42.4 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) in the first six months.