Mitsubishi Chem to dissolve Novapex Australia arm

18 November 2008 09:23  [Source: ICIS news]

TOKYO (ICIS news)--Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical is planning to dissolve its wholly owned subsidiary Novapex Australia and withdraw from the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin business in the country by March 2009 due to weak demand, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

"The company is profiting as of now, but demand is decreasing. Therefore, the business environment is looking hostile, and it’s very clear that it would be in the red soon [if the company continued to operate]," the spokesman said.

An official decision for the dissolution has been scheduled to be finalised in December 2008, and all production would end by March 2009, the spokesman said.

The dissolution of Novapex would have only a minor impact on Mitsubishi Chemical’s financial results because its production had almost been terminated already, the Mitsubishi spokesman said.

Novapex, based in Glen Iris, Victoria, has consigned Australian PET resin maker Leading Synthetics to produce 10,000 tonnes/year of PET resin, according to the spokesman.

Novapex manages Mitsubishi Chemical’s PET market interests within Australia and New Zealand.

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By: Tomomi Yokomura
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