Italy’s Versalis enters Asia; plans €400m/year global investment

12 September 2012 06:54  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Italy’s Versalis, the chemicals division of energy firm Eni, expects to invest €400m/year ($513m/year) to expand its global business, with new operations in Asia to be focused on enhancing its elastomers business, a company executive said on Wednesday.

Versalis CEO Daniele Ferrari is in Shanghai for the inauguration of a new office in China, marking the company’s entry into Asia.

“[A] direct presence in the Asia-Pacific region will allow the company to better monitor its industrial and market activities in sectors of strategic interest,” Versalis said in a statement.

In Asia, Versalis will be operated by Eni Chemicals Trading and Versalis Pacific Trading, which will be responsible for the import and sale of chemical products; the management of technology licenses, and; the development of partnerships in Asia.

Its Asian operations cover China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Australia, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The company’s strategy is based on cooperation agreements with international players and by leveraging Versalis’ proprietary technologies, it said.

Versalis said it hopes “to benefit from the strong development of the elastomer market in Asia, with an annual growth rate of 5% to 8%”, particularly in China.

It said that China ranks among the biggest automobile markets in the world, and this translates into strong demand for tyres – the main downstream of elastomers.

In Malaysia, Versalis has recently signed a joint venture agreement with state-owned oil and gas company PETRONAS for a possible construction of an elastomers facility in Johor.

“Versalis is also in the process of finalizing important negotiations with other major international market leaders,” the company said.

Versalis was formerly known at Polimeri Europa.

($1 = €0.78)

Read John Richardson and Malini Hariharan’s blog – Asian Chemical Connections

By: Dolly Wu
+65 6780 4359

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