Meeting consumer demand in China and Asia Pacific

March 31, 2010

Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Company’s recently opened complex in China’s Fujian Province gives the joint venture a strong foundation to create products that will help Chinese manufacturers respond to the country’s growing consumer demand.

“China has a rapidly developing middle class that is seeking an improved quality of life,” says Jeffery Davis, Asia Pacific manufacturing director, ExxonMobil Chemical. “As a result, the demand for new homes, new cars and a wide range of other consumer products has risen significantly and is expected to continue rising for years to come.”

This burgeoning consumer demand is creating a boom in the country for petrochemical products. In fact, the Chinese petrochemical market has become the largest in the world and continues to grow faster than that of any other country or region. Through 2015, some 60 percent of global petrochemical demand growth will occur in Asia, with over one-third in China alone. China already has the largest market for automobiles in the world — and automobiles represent a major market for petrochemicals.

Capitalizing on growth
The Fujian joint venture petrochemical plant produces polyethylene, polypropylene, butadiene, paraxylene and benzene. These are the chemical starting points for an array of consumer goods that includes plastic bottles, packaging materials, auto parts, construction materials and textiles. China is the world’s largest producer of polyester. Its demand for paraxylene, which is used to produce polyester, is expected to rise by about 10 percent per year through 2015.

ExxonMobil Chemical, which sells its products in more than 100 countries, has bolstered its marketing team throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

“Since 2006, we have more than tripled the number of Chemical marketing staff in China,” says Davis. “This includes salespeople, market-development specialists and application engineers who visit customer facilities to provide guidance in the use of our products.”

The products that ExxonMobil Chemical manufactures and markets feature attributes that make them especially effective in the production of high-performance consumer goods that are increasingly in greater demand in China and the Asia-Pacific region.

For example, the company makes plastic automotive parts more durable and improves the “stretch” and “cling” qualities of food packaging. Also, with China a major vegetable grower, ExxonMobil Chemical products improve the quality of agricultural film used in protecting vegetable crops.

A key step forward
ExxonMobil’s share of the petrochemical joint-venture complex in Fujian, combined with a major expansion of its Singapore refining and petrochemical complex, will almost double its key commodity capacity in Asia Pacific.

“With consumer demand for our products growing in China and the Asia Pacific,” says Paul Theys, chairman, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Company, “this increased manufacturing capacity represents a key step forward for ExxonMobil Chemical in what is arguably the world’s most strategically important growth region.”