Asia's largest refiner, Sinopec Group said yesterday it incurred a loss of 114.4 billion yuan in its refining business in 2008.

The huge loss was due to the price differential between higher international crude and lower domestic refined oil rates last year, the company said.

The Beijing-based Sinopec Group processed 173 million tons of crude oil last year. It also imported 3.6 million tons of refined oil products in the period.