The Chinese Basketball Association has signed an extension with oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, according to a Tencent report.

The extension was signed in front of ExxonMobil China general manager Wang Yiming, CBA Company President Yao Ming and Chinese basketball player Yi Jianlian, ambassador of the brand Mobil to China.

Although the financial terms of this deal has not been disclosed, it is believed to be valued at RMB20 million a year.

Under the rules of the extension, Mobil will continue to work as an official partner to support the top-tier Chinese professional basketball league for the 2017/18 season, which is set to tip-off on October 21st. 

As Yao Ming said, “In the past four years, we have worked closely with Mobil to engage more passionate customers and fans in basketball. Now the league is facing a new development opportunity. Mobil has become the first non-sport brand to sign with the CBA for the new season, and we believe that the deeper partnership will help improve player performance on the court as well as raise the competition level of the league as a whole. ”

Yi Jianlian, who is playing for Guangdong Tigers Basketball Club, stated: “I’m looking forward to the new season. As I have tried hard to reach an optimal state through offseason training, I hope to improve my performance for the upcoming season.”

Exxon’s presence in China dates back to the 1890s, when its corporate forerunner Standard Oil opened an office in Shanghai to sell kerosene. 

Source: Tencent

Proofread by William Logsdon