Expanding investment
$quot;If you want to be competitive worldwide you have to be in China!$quot; laughs Remi Charachon, managing director for Air Liquide China. $quot;Air Liquide has been developing quite rapidly in China these last few years, following an investment plan of €500m for the period 2004-2008. So far we have been in line with this plan, investing about €100m per year, these past 3 years.$quot;
Air Liquide has joined forces this year with many prominent Chinese manufacturers, including contracts with Jiangsu Shagang Group, to install 2 large air separation units, supplying 2,000 tonnes of gaseous oxygen each per day; and also with Quingdao Refining and Chemical Co, to supply nitrogen necessary for its new refinery in the Shandong Province.
Geographical expansion in China has also been important for Air Products Asia, as outlined by their president, Wilbur Mok, $quot;Right now we have established a strong position in North China, South China and East China, mainly along the coast where manufacturing is very strong – the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Bay area. We are also beginning to invest in the West, in Sichuan province with some new projects and we’re looking at expanding geographically, in a strategic and disciplined way.$quot;
Mok goes on to explain the attraction of the Chinese market to international investors. He says, $quot;China is a big manufacturing base, pretty much for the world so that’s why we believe the merchant markets supporting manufacturing is going to be a continuing growth opportunity for us. More and more electronics firms are moving into China – the Taiwanese companies, the Korean companies and even Intel has announced a fab in Dalian. Therefore we believe that the semi-conductor industry is going to be growing. Also the LCD, TFT LCD area, that’s also going to be growing because that’s where a lot of assembly is and a lot of the consumption is.$quot;
Air Products has recently signed a second long-term contract with Wison (Nanjing) Chemical Company Ltd to supply onsite gaseous oxygen and nitrogen to Wison’s syngas plant located in the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park (NCIP), Eastern China, as well as signing a long-term contract to supply gaseous oxygen to China’s Jushi Group Co., Ltd., the largest fibreglass manufacturer in Asia. The company has also joined forces with CNOOC Oil Base Group Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), to build and operate an air separation unit (ASU) and liquefier in Putian, Fujian Province. This will produce liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon by using cold energy from liquefied natural gas (LNG); the first application of LNG cold energy at an ASU plant in China.
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