Mady (middle), SABIC vice chairman and CEO, with He Lifeng, Vice Party Secretary of Tianjin City government, and his delegation including Xu Hongxing, President of the Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Company, and other SABIC executives pose for a group photo at SABIC headquarters in Riyadh. JEDDAH – A unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the world's largest chemicals producer, has announced plans to establish an engineering thermoplastics plant in China. SABIC's Innovative Plastics business has signed an agreement with Chongqing Xiyong Micro-electronics Industrial Park, and the Chongqing Economic and Informatisation Commission, it said in a statement. The move supports the Chinese government's plan to expand into the country's western region and reinforces SABIC's commitment to build on its overseas interests. On Friday (Nov. 4), SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO med Al-Mady received at SABIC headquarters in Riyadh He Lifeng, Vice Party Secretary of Tianjin City government, and his delegation which included Xu Hongxing, President of the Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Company. Al-Mady said the visit reflects SABIC's strong commitment to the Chinese market and its growing business presence in China. “SABIC has embarked on a series of growth initiatives in China, including a new partnership with Sinopec to build a polycarbonate plant in Tianjin and a new research center in Shanghai,” he said. The visit comes close on the heels of two recent delegations from China to SABIC - one headed by Zhang Gaoli, member of the Political Bureau, Central Committee, Communist Party of China (CPC), and Secretary of the CPC Tianjin Municipal, and the second led by Li Yongwu, Chairman of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. The Chongqing plan is SABIC's third Chinese engineering thermoplastics investment this year. Earlier announcements include an agreement with Sinopec to collaborate on polycarbonate production in China. SABIC is also investing in new production lines for SABIC's Lexan polycarbonate resins and films in both Shanghai and Nansha in 2012. Charlie Crew, executive vice president, SABIC and head of SABIC's Innovative Plastics business, said: “We are in China, for China. In the more than 30 years we've operated in this region, we've cultivated long-term customer relationships that have helped make SABIC the first supplier many of the world's leading OEMs call when designing their customers' innovations.” The new compounding plant, which is expected to be online in 2013, will produce several of SABIC's polycarbonate, polycarbonate blends and other engineering thermoplastics for southwest China customers. SABIC has 17 offices in the Greater China Region, three manufacturing plants in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin, one Technology & Innovation Center in Shanghai, and employs over 900 staff.
