China's Tiansheng mulls building aromatics unit at Ningbo

04 October 2004 01:17  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (CNI)--China's Zhejiang Tiansheng Co is considering building an aromatics facility in Ningbo, Zhejiang.

A company official told CNI's sister publication Asian Chemical News that the company had sought approval from the Chinese government for the project, which would produce mainly 700 000 tonne/year of paraxylene (PX). The project would rely on imported naphtha feedstock.

Tiansheng is a polyester chip, fibre and filament yarn producer that is integrated through to fabrics at its existing base in Keqiao in Shaoxing, Zhejiang.

Tiansheng would pursue the project with three other local companies, said a source close to the company. He added that it was likely to be the majority shareholder. The names of the other investors were not immediately known.

Details such as the technology to be used and the start-up date have not been firmed up. The official said start-up could take place in 2008 or 2009, but stressed that nothing had been confirmed.

He said the company planned to sell the output to producers of purified terephthalic acid (PTA). Another option was to buy an existing PTA plant in China, a move that could make Tiansheng an integrated player in fibre intermediates.

The official acknowledged that many details needed to be worked out before the project could take shape. He said the biggest hurdle would be obtaining approval from the provincial and central governments, as all existing PX plants in China were state-owned and private companies were not allowed to invest in PX.

Tiansheng is one of a few Chinese companies that have identified PX investments as an opportunity to feed the numerous PTA projects under planning and construction in China. There are two PTA projects in Ningbo – one by Formosa Chemicals & Fibres and the other by Mitsubishi Chemical.

By: Salmon Aidan Lee
+65 6780 4359

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