Made in MENA

 Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are expected to eventually feel the impact of the crisis confronting Europe and the United States. In its recent report on emerging economies, Barclays Capital made a comparison on the prospects of the region's net oil importers and exporters. The report states that MENA economies, which are already facing internal problems arising from political conflicts, are likely to feel the effects of the crisis but MENA countries with healthy supplies of domestic oil are likely to weather the storm. This special report carries an overview of the plastics industry in selected MENA countries and how these are poised towards development despite hard times ahead.

Egyptian plastics industry moves forward
The past two decades saw tremendous growth in Egypt's plastics production. Egypt is one of the main countries in the MENA region with a well established and advanced plastics industry. The industry has been exporting its products mainly to the EU, Middle East, and African countries. Despite the political volatility that has deterred foreign direct investments into the country, the plastics industry in Egypt remains the most modernised and resilient – with world's leading brands of machinery and equipment being operated in most of the factories.
Egyptian plastics industry has a strategic position as it gives easy access to the potential emerging markets in the region. The Egyptian market is strategically important for the global plastic companies to invest in, export to or import from. According to a report by the Industrial Development Authority in Egypt, there are over 2,000 plastics and rubber factories in Egypt. The industry's production is worth over $7 billion and the investment in the industry is worth over $4 billion Demand is expected to grow at 10% annually for the next three years, due to the increasing number of newly established factories. The packaging industry in Egypt accounts for 50% of the total annual consumption of various types of plastic raw materials.

Kuwait strengthens petrochemical sector
In a bid to expand its plastics materials production, Kuwait plans to invest $15 billion in petrochemical projects in the future as the country needs to strengthen its petrochemical production to provide necessary feedstock for its industrial projects. The country is now turning to both regional and international sources of capital to boost its industrial production. Following the success of EQUATE Petrochemical Company, Kuwait has taken initial steps to boost production in the areas of chemical and plastics production.
Established in 1995, EQUATE is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tonnes annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Exemplifying a perfect fit partnership through setting a leading example for best business practices and pioneering international success, EQUATE enjoys the advantages of combining Dow's technological innovation and industrial expertise with competent human resources, rich feedstock and valuable infrastructure provided by the Gulf State of Kuwait.
As the proud owner and operator of several world-class petrochemical units, EQUATE manages the production of the highest grades of Ethylene, Polyethylene (PE), Ethylene Glycol (EG), Polypropylene (PP), Styrene Monomer (SM), Paraxylene (PX) and
Benzene (BZ). With the construction of additional peEntrainement Nike