Dow Chemical invests in Jiangsu
By Jiang Jingjing (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-01 10:15
The Dow Chemical Company, a world leader in the chemical industry, has signed
a letter of intent with the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone to invest an additional
US$200 million in the city.
The agreement covers products in three Dow
businesses: DOWANOL PM glycol ethers in specialty chemicals, styrene butadiene
latex in Dow latex, and STYROFOAM brand insulation in Dow Building
Solutions.
The plants are expected to start production by
2008.
This move underscores Dow's commitment to investing in emerging
areas, in particular China, which is a key component of Dow's Global business
strategy and a significant contributor to the firm's growth and development,
said Jim McIlvenny, president of Dow Asia Pacific.
"As we look into
expanding our downstream performance business in China, we will continue to
explore upstream and other investment opportunities and collaborate with
partners to strengthen our leadership position in the market," McIlvenny
said.
Located on the Yangtze River approximately 200 kilometres upstream
from Shanghai, Zhangjiagang is uniquely positioned to supply domestic customers
as well as export markets.
With its excellent location, efficient
infrastructure and forward-looking leadership, Zhangjiagang is an ideal base
from which to expand Dow's production capacity in China, added Frankie Ko,
vice-president of Business Development of Dow Greater China.
Ko said with
China's rapid economic growth, the demand for chemical products has been growing
in the past 10 years. He said the trend would continue for at least the next 10
to 15 years.
"We intend to step up our investments in China so as to
better meet the growing demands and needs of our customers in the downstream
market," Ko stressed.
Dow has already invested US$300 million in
Zhangjiagang, operating three state-of-the-art facilities in the city's free
trade zone. They are a converted epoxy resin plant, styrene butadiene latex
facilities and a polystyrene resin plant.
The US firm so far has invested
over US$500 million in China. It is also exploring a programme to convert coal
to olefins, a kind of chemical raw material, and has signed an agreement with
the Shenhua Group, China's largest coal producer, to study the feasibility of
using coal gasification in a large-scale olefins plant.
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