BASF, one of world's largest chemical companies, plans to participate in China's efforts to revitalize its traditional industrial base in the northeast and develop the underdeveloped western region, Johnny C. W. Kwan, managing director of BASF Greater China and BASF (China) Co., Ltd said Thursday.

Kwan told a group of Chinese journalists that his company plans to invest in a new chemical project in northeast China, probably Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, one of the largest automobile industry bases in the country. BASF also plans to open an office in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, southwest China.

Currently, there are two BASF-funded joint ventures in the northeast, in Jilin City of Jilin Province, and Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, respectively.

As a major and the oldest industrial base in China, the northeastern region has a great potential for foreign investors and is particularly attractive to large transnational firms like BASF, he said, adding that BASF has good opportunities to invest in the vast western region of the country, which is rich in natural resources.

So far, BASF has set up 10 solely-funded projects and nine joint ventures in China's mainland, including BASF-YPC Co., Ltd., a 2.9-billion-US-dollar worth integrated petrochemical project in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu, and a number of chemical factories in Shanghai and other coastal cities.

Currently, these BASF-funded companies in China account for 5 percent of total sales of this chemical giant, but the rate is expected to top 10 percent by 2015, not less than BASF companies in Japan, according to Kwan.

Kwan, 48, is a native of Hong Kong and studied in universities of the United Kingdom between 1975 and 1979. Kwan joined BASF in 1996 and had been the division manager of Chemicals, BASF China Limited, managing director of BASF Taiwan Limited, and group vice president of Regional Business Unit, Intermediates; Inorganics Asia Pacific, BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters Ltd.

Kwan took over the present position on Jan. 1, 2004, and on the same day, BASF moved its Greater China Headquarters to Shanghai from Hong Kong.

Source: Xinhua