German giant to produce raw materials for high-grade paint in Shanghai

BASF, a world leading chemicals supplier from Germany, is planning to build a new polyisocyanate production facility at a chemical zone in this largest economic center of eastern China.

According to the company's officials, construction on the project will start in mid 2005, with an estimated investment of 30million US dollars. Upon completion at the end of 2006, the project will produce 8,000 tons of polyisocyanate a year and provide raw materials for auto and lumber coatings for the whole Asian market.

The project will help enlarge BASF's share on the markets of China and the rest of Asia, the officials believe.

BASF is a major producer of plastics, specialty chemicals, farmchemicals, fine chemicals and oil and gas in the world. It has become one of the most important foreign investors in China's chemical industry, employing more than 3,000 workers on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong and Taiwan province. It has 10 wholly-owned companies and nine joint ventures in the Greater China area. The sales in China recorded nearly 1.6 billion yuan (192.8 million US dollars) in 2003.

Source: Xinhua