ExxonMobil ramps up in China, Singapore

ExxonMobil Chemical Co. is investing in PP's future production and technology-particularly in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region, where next year it will bring on stream its largest petrochemical complex in the world. "We see PP demand growth in China at about 15% annually. For the next 5-10 years and within the next decade the Asia-Pacific region will account for half of total global PP demand," according to Larry Gros, Technology Manager for global polyolefin products. Gros said all of ExxonMobil's homopolymer and impact copolymer grades of PP are now included under the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which affects trade between China and the 10 countries that make up Asean. That pact, which overnight created the world's third-largest free-trade area, has allowed a 6.5% duty exemption on products imported from Singapore to China to enable easy penetration of the China's vast market. The removal of trade barriers between China and Singapore is of particular interest to ExxonMobil, as it already operates a large petrochemical complex in Singapore, and is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar expansion of that facility that will come on-stream in 2011. The firm is adding a second, parallel steam cracker on Jurong Island. www.exxonmobil.comADIDAS