2003/7/30　China Chemical Reporter

Blue Star Merges Tianjin Petrochemical Plant 　　　　　　中国藍星(集団）

Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Company signed an agreement with China Blue Star (Group) Corporation in Tianjin on July 18. According to the agreement, most part of assets and 1 450 employees in Tianjin Petrochemical Plant, a subsidiary of unlisted Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Company, were incorporated into China Blue Star (Group) Corporation.
Tianjin Petrochemical Plant is the oldest chemical industry production base in Tianjin. For some reason including unreasonable economy and product structure and weak competitiveness, the refining facility stopped production in 2001 and the chemical plants keep running.
Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Company began to negotiate about assets, personnel and management in Tianjin Petrochemical Plant with China Blue Star (Group) Corporation from March 2001, and reached agreement on July 18,2003.
It is reported that China Blue Star (Group) Corporation will realize its investment and development strategy in Tianjin, based on the regrouping.
China Blue Star (Group) Corporation is planning to establish the large chemical production bases in north China. With investment of RMB1.0 billion, China Blue Star (Group) Corporation will build 25 000 t/a 1,4-butanediol, 700 000 t/a road asphalt and 40 000 to 50 000 t/a SBS facilities.

China National Bluestar (Group) Corporation　　　　http://www.china-bluestar.com/eindex.html

China National Bluestar (Group) Corporation is an enterprise of production and management in diversified businesses. The Group owns 10specialized companies and is also the holding company of three listed companies in the stock market, namely "Bluestar Cleaning" "Star New Chemical Materials" "South-West Chemical Machinery". Its leading businesses include New Chemical Materials, Engineering Plastics, Chemical Cleaning, and Membrane Technology.

・The first specialized cleaning company in China
・The biggest capacity of industrial cleaners and auto use chemical products
・The largest facility of producing organic silicon
・The largest PBT unit by DMT continuous process in Asia
・The biggest production plant in China of series photosensitive materials
・The biggest production plant of Bisphenol A and Epoxy Resin in China
・The biggest production of ionic membrane electrobath for caustic soda
・The biggest company in the membrane industry in China
・The largest auto service franchise group
・The No. 1 brand of Chinese fast food ---- Malan Noodle.

"BLUESTAR" has been recognized as the No.1 famous industrial service trademark in China.

2003/12/16 日本経済新聞

中国藍星、韓国双竜自動車を７４０億円で買収へ
　
　韓国双竜自動車を中国の国有企業グループ、藍星集団が買収する見通しになった。買収額は約7400億ウォン（740億円）で中国企業による外国企業のＭ＆Ａ（合併・買収）としては過去最大規模。中国企業が韓国の大企業を買収するのも初めて。来年2月までに買収手続きを終える。藍星は買収後、韓国内の工場と中国の販売網拡充に10億ドル（1070億円）を投資、自動車事業に本格参入する。

　双竜自動車は経営危機から、朝興銀行など債権銀行団の管理下に入っていた。銀行団は、同社が昨年までに2年連続黒字になるなど再建が順調に進んだと判断。銀行団が保有する同社株（持ち株比率55％）を売却する国際入札を実施した。仏ルノー、米ゼネラル・モーターズ（ＧＭ）など海外数社が入札に参加し、16日、藍星が最優先交渉企業に選ばれた。

　藍星は2010年までに双竜自動車の韓国内の2工場と研究開発拠点に7億ドル、中国内の販売網整備に3億ドルを投資する。買収後は韓国で生産した車種を中国で輸入販売する。

ACW 2003-11-20

China's government approves merger of Blue Star, Haohua Chem

China's State Council has approved the merger of two state-owned companies - China National Blue Star (Group) Corp and China Haohua Chemical Industrial (Group) Corp, source said.
( http://www.haohuachem.com/eindex.htm )
A spokesman from Blue Star said the company expects to receive formal documents from the Chinese government in the coming weeks, after which a new company China United Chemical Industrial Corp will be set up.

He added that the new entity would seek to become a leading chemical company in China with a strong focus on production of basic chemicals, polymers, speciality chemicals and fertilisers. The merged company would have the financial muscle and resources to lead China’s chemical industry as local giants Sinopec and PetroChina have done in the country’s oil and gas sectors, he added.

The combined entity is expected to be worth Rmb30bn ($3.6bn/Euro3.1bn) in asset value.

The spokesman said there were plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) for the new company, but this was not a priority at present. He said both companies would first look at streamlining their operations and mapping out future developments once they had received formal approval documents from the government.

Blue Star produces chemicals through its subsidiaries - Blue Star Cleaning, Blue Star New Chemical Material and Nantong Synthetic Material. Its product slate includes toluene di-isocyanate (TDI), phenol, bisphenol A, epoxy resin and polybutylene terephthalate.

The parent company has been seeking growth through acquisitions of companies. Earlier this year, Blue Star acquired a refinery and a polypropylene (PP) unit from Tianjin Petrochemical, a Sinopec subsidiary. Both units were understood to be making losses before the acquisition and have small capacities.

ACW earlier reported on Blue Star’s ambitious plans to build several greenfield plants and expand its existing units in various parts of China. The greenfield projects include construction of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and methanol facilities.

Haohua is a manufacturer of organic fluoro rubber and silicon rubber which are used in mechanical hydraulic systems, lubricating systems, bearings and driving seals because of their heat resistant properties, raw materials such as calcium carbide, barium and strontium salts, and other products including fertilisers, pesticides, fine chemicals and chemical equipment.

The company has a strong focus in research and development (R&D), especially in the coal chemical industry, petroleum and natural gas chemical industry. The company is also strong in chemical fertilisers, synthetic materials, synthetic rubber and rubber processing, the fine chemical industry, chemical equipment and engineering, new chemical materials and special gases, environmental protection, chemical industry for national defense.

Haohua is also an information provider and holds the right to exploit chemical mineral resources in China.

2004/5/10 China Chemical Reporter 　　　　　　　　　　　　　合併承認

China National Chemical Corporation
http://www.ccr.com.cn/news_view.asp?ID=433

The state-run chemical conglomerate was officially launched in Beijing on May 9th based on the merger between two state-owned chemical giants-China National Blue Star (Group) Corporation and China Haohua Chemical Industrial (Group) Corporation (CHC)
China National Chemical Information Center (CNCIC), a subsidiary of China Haohua Chemical Industrial (Group) Corporation, has also become part of the new conglomerate.
The new conglomerate is named China National Chemical Corporation (CNCC).
Controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration (SASAC), the new conglomerate has a registered capital of RMB5.7 billion (US$688.4 million) and some 100 000 employees.
China National Chemical Corp aims to have total assets of RMB50 billion (US$6.0 billion) and annual sales of more than RMB40 billion (US$4.8 billion) this year.
And CNCC expects to increase both total assets and annual sales to more than RMB100 billion (US$12.1 billion) within the next three years.
China National Chemical Corp is also seeking an overseas stock market listing in one to two years after it becomes one of the top 500 multinationals.
After the merger between Blue Star and CHC, there are 186 SASAC-controlled industrial giants, some of which have gone public in the overseas capital markets, such as Sinopec, PetroChina, etc.
Blue Star and CHC will continue to exist as two entities under China National Chemical Corp.
Blue Star, founded in 1984, now has total assets of more than RMB20 billion (US$2.4 billion) and reported RMB10 billion (US1.2 billion) in sales last year.
CNCC has three domestically listed subsidiaries - Blue Star Cleaning, Blue Star New Chemical Materials and Southwest Chemical Machinery.
CHC, established in 1993, its assets totaled RMB11.3 billion (US$1.4 billion) at the end of last year. Its sales stood at RMB4.37 billion (US$527.8 million) in 2003.
CHC also owns home-listed firm Southwest Chemical Industry Research and Design Institute.
The new conglomerate will mainly focus on new and basic chemical materials as well as chemicals for military use.
The automobile sector will also be a new business venture for China National Chemical Corp.
In February, Blue Star signed a letter of intent with British automaker Manganese Bronze Holdings to set up a vehicle joint venture in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, Northwest China. The two parties plan to invest US$350 million in the expected joint venture to build 50 000 taxis for the British company annually.
The joint venture project and Blue Star Zhongche Auto Maintenance (Group) Corp - the largest vehicle repairing chain in China - will be combined into one of the 10 expected specialized business divisions of China National Chemical Corp.

Chinese Chemical Reporter 2003/8/18

Chinese Phenol Industry Meet with High Investment

The expansion plan of large-scaled enterprises has appeared and the competitiveness of the whole industry will be improved based on its expansion and technical renovation.

The reporter got the news from the relevant department the expansion plans of Chinese phenol industry have been confirmed and the production capacity will be increased greatly in the coming two years.
It is reported the production capacity of domestic four big phenol/ acetone production base will be expanded from the existing 425 000 t/a to 760 000 t/a, nearly double the original capacity.

The phenol production capacity in Harbin Huayu Corp. will be increased from 45 000 t/a to 200 000 t/a. At present, the public service in Huayu has been in construction and the phenol expansion project is planning to put on stream at the end of next year. The phenol production capacity in Jilin Chemical Industry Company (吉林) will be added to 120 000 t/a from the existing 60 000 t/a and put into production in August this year. Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company (燕山) has two sets of phenol plants, one is an 80 000 t/a phenol unit in the east area and the other is a 100 000 t/a phenol unit in the west area. In September this year, 100 000 t/a phenol plant in Yanshan Petrochemical Company will be expanded to 160 000 t/a. Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Company（上海高橋） also has two sets of phenol plants with capacity of 60 000 t/a respectively, which will be moved to Shanghai Caojing Development Zone for reconstruction with planning production capacity of 200 000 t/a.

After completing the expansion of domestic phenol industry, the competitiveness of the whole industry will be improved based on its expansion and technical renovation.
The experts explain the reason for high investment of domestic phenol industry including the phenol price rising after China launched dumping investigation of phenol made in Japan, South Korea, the United States and Taiwan region on August 1, 2002, and the investigation will be extended to February 1, 2004. The main reason is that domestic producers has realized it very important to construct large-scale units and develop large-scale production as the global market is coming into being.

China Chemical Reporter 2003-8-25

Sichuan Introduces Technique to Produce 1,4-butanediol

Sichuan Tianhua Co Ltd. （四川天化）signed a contract on technique transfer of 1,4-butanediol with Du Pont of the United States in Sichuan on August 14, 2003.
The project, located in the Western Chemical Park of Luzhou（瀘州）, Sichuan Province, will produce 1,4-butanediol instead of imports, based on raw materials including natural gas, adopting the mature technique of Du Pont.
It is reported that Sichuan Tianhua Co Ltd. is the first domestic producer to produce 1,4-butanediol introducing the advanced technique.

---

SICHUAN TIANHUA CO.LTD 　（LTH Group）　　　　　　　　　　http://yun.cdcom.com.cn/e-index.htm

The company possesses a large-scale nitrogen fertilizer unit with a capacity of 300,000 MTPY ammonia and 520,000 MTPY urea,which was introduced from Italy and enjoys the advanced process and technique level in the nineties.

Lutianhua Group Incorporated (hereinafter referred to as LTH Group) was born in November, 1959 in Luzhou-a well-known city famous for its rich culture and long history in the southern part of Sichuan, China. Endowed with abundant natural resources, charming mountains and the surging Yangtze River. The Group is constantly growing up. After 40 years' growth and through the efforts of hardworking and intelligence of its staff, it has now turned to a supper large-sized enterprise with production, scientific research, design, manufacturing, engineering construction, trading and services. LTH Group possesses and operates Sichuan Lutianhua Co. Ltd., the largest urea producer in china, Lutianhua oleo chemical Co. Ltd., the largest oleo chemical manufacturer in China, and Sichuan Tianhua Co. Ltd.. LTH Group owns a state level enterprise's technical center and enjoys the right of import and export in international trade. Up to now, LTH Group operates and runs several production units with 30 kinds of products and the following annual capacities:Ammonia 800,000 MT; Urea 1,240,000 MT; Oleo chemicals 30,000MT; Concentrated nitric acid 40,000MT;Ammonium nitrate 110,000MT; Methanol 6,000MT.

Asia Chemical Weekly 　2003/8/27

China's Shaanxi Weihe begins 200 kt/yr methanol project     

China's Shaanxi Weihe Coal Chemical Group Co  ( 陝西渭河) has started building a 200 000 tonne/year methanol plant in Weinan, Shaanxi, according to a company source.   The methanol project, which is scheduled for startup in H1 2005, will use local technology licensed by Hangzhou Linda Chemical Technology Engineering.   Feedstock for the project will come from a nearby coal-gasification unit which uses Texaco's technology.   The facility will be Weihe's first methanol plant. The company currently produces 300 000 tonne/year of ammonia and 520 000 tonne/year of urea at the same site.

China Chemical Reporter》News (2003-08-26)

Cooperation between Blue Star and Tioz of Korea

Tioz of Korea signed a contract with China Blue Star Group on July 29 on establishing a joint venture photo-catalyst plant in Beijing.

According to the contract, the project has a total investment of US$4.0 million. Tioz and Blue Star Group each holds 50% stakes and Tioz owns the right to operation for 30 years. The joint venture plant has a capacity of 2 000 t/a photo-catalyst.

Photo-catalyst is a new product using sunlight to remove contaminants or kill bacteria and viruses. It is extensively used in air purification, odor removal and bacteria prevention. The addition of such photo-catalyst in outer wall coatings of buildings, in particular, can prevent outer walls from pollution and keep them clean without cleaning for long intervals.

Tioz separated itself from LG Electronic in January last year. It is specialized in the operation of new environmental protection materials and supplies photo-catalyst products to LG Group and Hyundai Group.

* Tioz 　酸化チタン TiOz　から

August 28, 2003 Business Wire

China to Be the Next Polypropylene Super-Power Predicts Phillip Townsend Associates

China will soon surpass the United States as the largest single country consuming polypropylene, according to the recently released 9th edition of Phillip Townsend Associates Inc.'s (PTAI) Polypropylene Annual Report. Five years ago, China consumed only 60 percent as much polypropylene resin as the United States, but that ratio has since grown to 95 percent. The report projects that China will continue to grow for the next five years at a rate that is about double that experienced by the United States, resulting in a consumption ratio of 120 percent by 2007.

"The two primary Chinese producers, SINOPEC and PetroChina, are already among the world's largest polypropylene producers," Kevin Smith, project manager for the Polypropylene Annual Report, said. "SINOPEC currently ranks as the second-largest producer in the world, while PetroChina, the 13th-largest polypropylene producer, has signed a licensing agreement with Basell that will essentially double its capacity by 2007."

Despite this sizeable capacity position, China currently has a 2.5 million tonne shortfall in the amount of polypropylene consumed versus domestically produced. This shortfall is projected to almost double by 2007. There are several exporting candidates to make up this shortfall: (1) South Korea, already a major exporter to China (2) the Middle East, a region that is gearing up to bring on significant new capacity and (3) India.

"India is another country whose polypropylene consumption is growing rapidly, even more rapidly than China," Smith added. "India will add another 0.4 million tonnes of polypropylene capacity in the next five years. However, over the same period, consumption will increase by double this amount. If Indian producers wish to compete for the Chinese market, then they will have to announce more capacity soon."

The Polypropylene Annual Report estimates that the Asia/Pacific region accounts for over one-third of the world's polypropylene consumption. Demand for polypropylene in this region was nearly 12 million tonnes in 2002 -- an increase of 10.4 percent, or 1.1 million tonnes, over 2001.

The PTAI annual report also explains in great detail how this resin was consumed in the Asia/Pacific and other regions in 2002. For example, the Asia/Pacific region currently produces about half of the world's polypropylene fiber. The fibers market in this region, primarily raffia or slit film fiber, is predicted to grow at almost 7.5 percent per year for the next five years, representing an addition of 2 million tonnes to polypropylene consumption.

On a global basis for the year 2002, polypropylene consumption increased by nearly 7 percent, or 2.2 million tonnes, to reach a total of over 34 million metric tonnes. PTAI's Polypropylene Annual Report forecasts that total consumption will grow by 6.6 percent per year to reach over 47 million tonnes by 2007.

Phillip Townsend Associates Inc. is a global consulting company based in Houston. Every year it publishes numerous multi-client studies on the thermoplastic resin industry. For more information about the Polypropylene Annual Report service contact Shari Gangestad at 281-873-8733, ext. 132, or e-mail sgangestad@ptai.com.

Chemnet Tokyo　2003/8/29

テルモが中国の医療費大幅増を予測
　　2001年の7.4兆円が07年に13兆円に 　

　中国の杭州市と長春市（合弁）で医療機器を生産しているテルモの原八郎取締役兼常務執行役員本社生産部管掌・中国部統括管掌は中国での医療費の見通しや中国進出企業へのアドバイスなどについて、次にように語った。
　
　これは来日中の訪日杭州ミッションが杭州ビジネス環境説明会を東京で開いた席上で、在中日本企業代表として明らかにしたもの。同社は中国でカテーテル、輸液セットなどを生産している。

　なお、訪日ミッションによると現在までに杭州市には日本企業403社が進出、上位38社で15万4,000ドルの投資が行われたという。

Chemnet Tokyo　2003/9/29

エチレン90万トンセンターを早期実現、天津市
　米ダウ・ケミカルなどに参加呼びかけ

　中国・天津市は2010年までの同市発展計画を策定、日本、韓国などからの企業誘致にのりだしたが、引き続き米国の産業、金融などへの協力を要請、とりわけ同市浜海新区での石油・石油化学開発計画の早期実現をはかることになった。
　
　中国は自動車、情報通信、建設などの発展によって、鋼材、セメントなどの資材の需要が活発化、最近では石油化学製品の需要も拡大している。
　
　石油化学産業は石油からのナフサ、天然ガスを分解するエチレンセンターが中核となるが、中国では、目下、第2次大型化計画が続出して、激しい競争を展開している。
　
　主なエチレンセンター計画としては英BP-アモコグループによる上海の年産90万トン、独BASFグループによる南京の120万トン、英蘭シェルグループによる恵州（広東省）の80万トン、米エッソモービルグループによる泉州（福建省）の60万トンなどがあり06〜08年の完成を目ざしている。08〜10年には倍増の1,000万tをこえると予想されている。
　
　こうしたことから天津市も計画の早期達成をはかることになったもので、載相龍市長は先週、米国を訪問、ダウケミカルなどに投資協力を要請したといわれる。同市の浜海新区での石化計画は塘沽地区にエチレン年産90万トン規模のセンターを26億ドル投じて建設する予定。合弁、単独などの投資方式で今年中にも入札を行う方針。
　
　天津市石油化工化繊企画事務室によると塩ビ年産108万トン、無水マレイン酸7万トン、1.4ブタンジオール21万トン、PBT 10万トン、ブタノール20万トン、アクリル酸・アクリル酸エステル10万トン、カプロラクタム10万トン、アジピン酸4万トン、ポリカーボネイト6万トン、テトラハイドロフラン5万トン、ポリテトラヒドロフラン5万トンなどが計画されている。浜海新区には大港油田の開発も予定されており、原料は自給する方針だ。

天津市計画　エチレン　90万トン、投資総額 26.06億ドル

窓口　天津市石油化工化繊企画事務室

Platts 2003/10/9

Sichuan Vinylon to complete new VAM unit commissioning by Oct 10

China's Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works has begun commissioning its recently expanded 200,000 mt/yr vinyl acetate monomer plant in Sichuan and hopes to complete the process by Friday, a company source said Thursday.

ACW　2003-10-2

China Blue Star to build 100 kt/yr phenol-acetone plant
http://www.chemweekly.com/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=872&BigClassName=Projects&BigClassID=28&SmallClassID=50&SpecialID=0

China Blue Star New Chemical Materials Co plans to build a phenol-acetone plant with a combined capacity of 100 000 tonne/ year in Harbin, Heilongjiang, a company official said.

The new plant is expected to come onstream by end-2005. It will be run by a subsidiary of the company, Harbin Huayu Co, which owns a 50 000 tonne/year phenol-acetone plant at the same site.

Blue Star New Chemical also said its previously announced phenol-acetone project with a combined capacity of 200 000 tonne/ year will be sited in Nantong, Jiangsu, China. It is preparing a proposal on the project and plans to seek government approval by end-2003.

China Blue Star New Chemical, a subsidiary of China National Blue Star (Group) Corp, currently produces 20 000 tonne/year of polybutylene terephthalate in Nantong.

The company official said it plans to use UOP's technology in the Nantong phenol-acetone project, with startup set for 2006.

Feedstock will be sourced locally and through imports. Part of the output will be shipped to China Blue Star New Chemical's 16 000 tonne/year bisphenol A (BPA) plant in Wuxi, also in Jiangsu. The company is due to bring onstream a 30 000 tonne/year BPA unit later this month.

It is understood that a potential customer for the phenol output is Bayer, which is building a 200 000 tonne/year BPA unit and a 200 000 tonne/year polycarbonate (PC) plant in Caojing, Shanghai. The German major plans to bring both units onstream in 2005.

---

March 09, 2004 UOP

Bluestar Selects Sunoco/UOP Technology to Add Phenol-Acetone Capacity
http://www.uop.com/about_uop/press_releases/2004PressReleases/03.09.04.BluestarSelectsPhenol.QMax.htm

Bluestar New Chemical Materials Co., Ltd., Beijing, China, has selected the Sunoco/UOP Phenol process for the expansion of their phenol-acetone facility in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. Bluestar will also use the Q-Max^TM process to expand its cumene production by 175% to accommodate the increased phenol and acetone capacity. Bluestar's expansion is planned to start up in 2005 and produce a total of 120 KMTA of phenol and acetone.

Bluestar New Chemical Materials Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Bluestar (Group) Corporation, is a leading producer of chemical products and the largest producer of phenolic resin and bisphenol A in China. Bluestar New Chemical Materials Co., Ltd. has been operating its phenol-acetone production plant based on Sunoco/UOP technology since 1993.

UOP LLC, headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., USA, is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, process plants, and technical services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries.

化学工業日報　2003年10月14日
http://www.chemicaldaily.co.jp/news/
インビスタ、中国社に１．４ＢＤ技術を供与

　インビスタは中国の四川天華股〓有限公司に１・４ブタンジオール（１・４ＢＤ）の生産技術を供与することで合意した。四川天華は四川省濾州で１・４ＢＤ工場の建設を近く開始し、２００６年から生産を開始する予定。同社がＰＴＭＧ（ポリテトラメチレンエーテルグリコール）に関する製品の技術をアジア地域で供与するのは今回が初めて。

《China Chemical Reporter》News (2003-10-14)

20-Year Development of Yangzi Petrochemical
　　http://www.sinocheminfo.com/topnews/r200310141014.htm

Sept. 19, 2003 is the 20th anniversary of Yangzi Petrochemical. In these 20 years Yangzi Petrochemical has produced more than 50.0 million tons of commodities and paid back RMB14.8 billion of loans. The total asset value has increased from RMB7.0 billion at the time of establishment to RMB22.8 billion, 2.6 times of the asset value in 1990 when the company started all-round production.Technical renovationYangzi Petrochemical, a super large petrochemical base in China, was constructed in the inter-tidal zone along the Yangtze River in 1983 in a matter of 5 years and 5 months. Boiler was ignited in July 1986, qualified ethylene was produced in July 1987, the world's biggest aromatic unit made startup in March 1990 and a profit and tax of RMB1.0 billion was accomplished in 1991.

Yangzi Petrochemical conducted two rounds of major technical renovation from 1995. The first round was the technical renovation to existing units. Through three major overhauls in three years, the capacity of the ethylene unit expanded from 300 000 t/a to 400 000 t/a. The overall capacity increased by one-third, but the total investment was only RMB1.997 billion, less than a half of the investment needed in constructing a new unit with the same capacity. The company invested RMB3.7 billion in 2000 and expanded the capacity of the ethylene unit further to 650 000 t/a in a matter of 22 months. The company accomplished a sales revenue of RMB10.85 billion and a profit of RMB641.9 million in the first half of this year, creating the best half-year performance in the company. Joint ventureYangzi-BASF Styrene Products Co., Ltd. with an investment of RMB2.0 billion was established in November 1994. BASF, a chemical giant from Germany, brought not only capital and technology but also advanced management experience to Yangzi Petrochemical. After seeing the unimaginably successful cooperation with Yangzi Petrochemical, the chairman of BASF expressed his willingness to further cooperate at a higher level and in a higher scale. Yangzi BASF Co., Ltd. with a total investment of over RMB20.0 billion (US$2.9 billion) was born in November 2000. In September of the following year the 'World-class, high-tech and integrated' Yangzi-BASF project started construction. It was the biggest overseas investment project in Germany and also the first large joint venture petrochemical project in China. The project will be completed at the end of 2004 and start commercial operation in 2005.

Eastman and Shaw of the United States, BOC of Britain and the other companies came close at heels. A total of 7 joint venture enterprises were set up in the company. According to statistics, joint venture enterprises already starting commercial operation accomplished a sales revenue of RMB2.0 billion and a profit of RMB176 million last year, hitting the highest historical record.Listing in stock marketYangzi Petrochemical has persisted in the innovation of system, mechanism and management. It stripped off auxiliary production facilities and logistics systems in 1993 and established 10 collective enterprises and an industrial company. After the partnership with BASF, the company formed a new operational mode featuring the joint development of state-owned enterprises, collective enterprises and joint venture enterprises and became one of the first exemplary enterprises for mechanism transformation. Yangzi Petrochemical Co., Ltd. was established in April 1998. The company issued 350 million A-shares to the public and was listed in Shenzhen stock market. Yangzi Petrochemical changed its name into Yangzi Petrochemical Co., Ltd. in September 1998 and the framework of the modern enterprise system was established.

After the reformation of China Petrochemical Corporation in March 2000, Yangzi Petrochemical actively conducted readjustments to business, organization, personnel, assets, credits and debts, made internal reforms, reduced staff and improved economic returns.

Today Yangzi Petrochemical owns 28 production units with the 650 000 t/a ethylene unit and the 950 000 t/a aromatic integrated unit as the core, processes 8.0 million tons of crude oil a year and produces and sells 38 varieties of products in 4 categories including polyolefin plastics, polyester raw materials, basic organic chemicals and oil products.

After the third round of technical renovation Yangzi Petrochemical will become a first-rate domestic petrochemical supplier with a capacity of 1.0 million t/a ethylene production and 10.0 million t/a oil refining at the end of the Eleventh Five-year Plan period.

October 20, 2003

Atofina to build a new organic peroxides plant in China
　http://www.atofina.com/groupe/gb/f_elf_atofina_2.cfm?droite=actucomm/d_detail.cfm?IdComm=11502

Atofina, the Chemicals Branch of the Total Group, has confirmed its intention to build a new organic peroxides production plant in China.

With an initial 3,000 tpa capacity, this future plant will be built on the Atofina Changshu industrial platform (Shanghai area). It should consolidate Atofina's presence in Asia in order to follow the demand for organic peroxides which is growing in conjunction with demand for polymers in the continental Asia.

"With this capacity increase and bearing in mind the region's growth possibilities, we should be in a position to meet the marginal needs of the polymerisation initiators market until 2009 / 2010", explains Romuald de Haut de Sigy, General Manager Organic Peroxides Europe & Asia.

This new 100% owned unit will complement the joint ventures operated for many years in Korea, Japan and India, whose minority partner has been bought out in October 2002. This move will enable Atofina to serve a wider scope of local customers by improving the logistics and secure operations within the frame of the Group's safety and environmental standards.

Atofina operates 10 organic peroxides facilities around the world. In addition to its three Asian sites, Atofina has plants in the United States (States of New York and Texas) and in Europe (Gunzburg in Germany, Spinetta in Italy, and Loison in France).

Atofina's organic peroxides range includes polymerisation initiators, crosslinking agents for rubber and polyethylene, and curing agents for unsaturated polyester resins, marketed under the tradename LUPEROX(R).

ACW-2003-11-20

China's Sinochem plans ABS, PTMEG plants in Jiangsu province 江蘇省太倉

Sinochem International Co plans to build a 60 000 acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plant and a 20 000 tonne/year polytetramethylene glycol (PTMEG) at Taicang, Jiangsu, China, according to a company source.

The projects, costing not more than $60m (Euro50.4m) in total, will be the company's first major manufacturing investments.

Sinochem International is also taking a 10-20% stake in a planned spandex facility at the same site. The project will be a joint venture with Taicang-based companies.

The source said the PTMEG and ABS units would have less than worldscale capacities because the company wanted to test out its newly developed technologies before building larger-scale plants.

Construction work has started on both units. The PTMEG project is scheduled to come onstream in July 2004, while the ABS unit is due onstream at end-2004.

The capacity of the PTMEG unit could be boosted to 40 000 tonne/year and that of the ABS unit to 500 000 tonne/year in stages if the technologies prove viable, the source said.

The technologies for both planned units are improved versions of existing technologies. The improvements were made by the company's R&D team.

Sinochem International is seeking to diversify into manufacturing from chemicals trading. It is also enhancing its R&D efforts to produce products that are technology-oriented, such as engineering plastics.

Its parent company, Sinochem Corp, signed a memorandum of understanding recently with the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT Plc) to cooperate in Thailand and China, including possible participation in PTT Plc's cracker project, which is under study.

China Chemical Reporter 2003/12/1

600 000 T/A Ethylene Project in Lanzhou Approved
　　　http://www.ccr.com.cn/news_view.asp?ID=382

A 600 000 t/a ethylene renovation project in Lanzhou Petrochemical Co., Ltd. got approved by the State Council on Dec.1 2003, and will be started for construction soon, with a total investment of RMB 4.75793 billion.
Lanzhou Petrochemical Co., Ltd. is a giant of petrochemicals under CNPC, with a crude oil processing capacity reaching 10.5 million tons per year currently. After the renovation, the production capacity of ethylene will expand to 600 000 t/a from the existing 240 000 t/a.
The complete sets for the down-stream equipment of the project include the following units:
　200 000 t/a high pressure polyethylene unit;
　200 000 t/a theoretical density polyethylene unit, and
　300 000 t/a polypropylene unit,
which will add a new capacity of 360 000 tons of ethylene,
　400 000 tons of polyethylene, and
　300 000 tons of polypropylene each year.
The renovation project has introduced advanced special technologies for production of polypropylene and polyethylene and taken full advantages of ethylene feedstock, materializing the integration of refining and chemical process, so that it will become the top ethylene production base in the West China.
On June 13, 2003, the ethylene production capacity in Lanzhou Petrochemical Co., Ltd. reached 240 000 tons from the former 165 000 tons yearly, with the test run a success.

December 9, 2003 GE

GE PLASTICS EXPANDS OPERATIONS IN NANSHA
　-Adding Local Production Capacities for Plastics Compounding and Film Extrusion-
　　　http://www.geplastics.com/press_pack/03_12_10.html

GE Plastics, a division of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), today announced expansion plan for its production capacity in Nansha, Guangdong Province. Joined by Mr. Gu Shiyang, Vice Secretary of Guangzhou Municipal Government, Mr. Yu Yaosheng, Standing Vice Commander in Chief of the Headquarters of Nansha Development Zone, Mr. Luo Zhaoci, Vice Commander in Chief of the Headquarters of Nansha Development Zone and other government representatives, GE Plastic executives officiated the groundbreaking ceremony at the expansion site.

The new expansion of the Nansha plant will be worth approximately US$60 million, primarily for building up eight new production lines. Upon the completion of the expansion construction in November 2004, the plant is expected to add more employment opportunities.

"We are here today to demonstrate our commitment and strong belief in the plastics industry in China," Mark Wall, president for GE Plastics Greater China Region said excitedly today at the groundbreaking ceremony. "Our plant in Nansha after expansion will further assist our customers and all industry players in China to raise the bar from commodity plastics to higher end engineering thermoplastics."

The construction of the current Nansha plant began in1994, and it was put into production in July 1996. Total investment reached US$70 million. The plant facility covers an area of 80,000 square meters and employs over 200 people. In 1999, the Nansha plant passed the ISO 14001 certification audit by Lloyd Register Quality Assurance.

The GE Plastics Nansha plant specializes in plastics compounding and film extrusion. Using raw materials such as PC, ABS, additives and pigments, the plant produces various plastic products ranging from LEXAN® resin, CYCOLOY® resin, NORYL® resin and CYCOLAC® resin to 8010 and 8B35 Graphic Film.

About GE Plastics

GE Plastics is a leading producer of engineering thermoplastics with major production facilities worldwide. GE Plastics materials, including LEXAN polycarbonate, are used in a wide variety of applications such as CDs and DVDs, automobile parts, computer housings, cookware, outdoor signage, cell phones, bullet-resistant shielding and building materials. Through its LNP Engineering Plastics business, the company is a worldwide leader in the custom compounding of engineering thermoplastics. GE Plastics is also a global distributor of sheet, film, rod and tube products through GE Polymershapes and GE Structured Products. In 2003, GE Plastics is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of LEXAN polycarbonate, discovered in 1953 by GE chemist Dr. Daniel W. Fox. The company's web site is located at www.geplastics.com.cn.