KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 15): Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag), the marketing arm of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), aims to increase its non-fuel revenue to 30% in two to three years.

Its managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin said fuel is a diminishing industry as global trends are moving towards renewable energy such as electrical vehicles, thus PetDag needs to look to the non-fuel segment

This is to ensure the company can fill the gap in the fuel segment so it can continue to deliver returns to shareholders going forward.

According to Syed Zainal, PetDag's revenue is mainly from the fuel segment, which contributes up to 90% of its total revenue, while the non-fuel segment only contributes 10%.

Syed Zainal said the partnership with the Common Ground, Malaysia's largest leading co-working space, marks the cornerstone of PetDag's plan to transform a station into an innovation hub, which he is hopeful can eventually enhance the company's non-fuel revenue.

"The Place @ Ampang is one of PetDag's long-term strategies to reinvent our retail business, focusing on creating innovative solutions to enhance our customer experience," he said.

"While we have some exciting ideas brewing, we are open to receiving new ones as we look to encourage the growth of the local startup industry. This fits in well with our continuous effort in supporting local SMEs and vendors to be part of our business eco-system.

"We want to reach out to more, and this is where Common Ground will play a central role in connecting us with the rest of the startup community out there, to further explore and create greater innovations," Syed Zainal added.

Syed Zainal pointed out that PetDag is targeting to duplicate similar business ideas by transforming its six other stations — Shah Alam Seksyen 26, Ampang, Solaris, Setiawangsa, Johor Bahru and Langkawi — into innovation hubs.

As at 12.30pm, PetDag's share price traded 14 sen or 0.53% higher at RM26.36, giving it a market capitalisation of RM26.19 billion.