| 1. Profile of New Company |
| Name: |
Huizhou MMA Co., Ltd. |
| Location: |
The Hiuzhou Daya Bay Economic
and Technological Development Zone, Guangdong Province |
| Chairman (non-standing): |
Ryoichi Yokoyama |
| Lines of business: |
Manufacture and sale of MMA
monomer |
| Established: |
March 2004 |
| Construction date: |
Sept. 2004 |
| Completion date: |
April 2006 (Tentative) |
| Paid-in capital: |
US$46.1 million (approx. 5 billion JPN Yen) |
| Equity stake: |
Mitsubishi Rayon 100% |
| Investment: |
Approx. US$100 million |
| Production capacity: |
90,000 tons per year (70,000 tons initially) |
|
| 2.Background to the New Company’s Establishment |
 |
China, which boasted the fastest
growing economy in Asia at the end of the 20th century, is rapidly
expanding its infrastructure ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics
and the 2010 Shanghai Expo. This upgrading of its infrastructure
is expected to further accelerate growth. In tandem with this
growth, MMA demand is shifting toward high-end products, and
is expected to remain strong. China’s MMA monomer market,
which includes recycled monomers, is currently estimated at
150,000 tons, and is expected to grow continuously at a rapid
pace. We expect the market to grow to 230,000 tons by 2008.
Mitsubishi Rayon has not only established a production
base in China, with its highly competitive workforce, but is
also targeting the country’s vast high-end market. N-Butyl
methacrylate(BMA), a higher ester and MMA derivative, has been
produced by Suzhou Sanyouli Chemicals Co., Ltd. since in April
1998. We have also established Nantong Rayon Chemical Co., Ltd.
in Nandong, Jiangsu Province, to produce acrylic resin. This
plant, with a production capacity of 40,000 tons, began operation
in December 2003. Nearby, we established Mitsubishi Rayon Polymer
Nantong co., Ltd. The plant, which is currently under construction,
will have a production capacity of acrylic resin sheets (20,00
tons) and acrylic coating resins (3,500 tons). Operation is
scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2005.
In
the MMA business, we believe that our comprehensive business
operations give us superior competitiveness. Our MMA business
operations encompass both monomers and polymers, which form
a complementary system. Following the completion of the scheduled
this MMA monomer plant in China, we will have created a unified
production system linking our principal production bases in
Japan, Thailand, and China. By linking our bases, we aim to
establish an overwhelming presence in Asia.
During
the current term and before the completion of the new plant
in China, our Thai MMA monomer manufacturing and sales company
will boost production capacity by 20,000 tons per year. At the
end of this year, the Company is scheduled to carry out regular
repair work, at which time simultaneous measures will be taken
to boost production capacity, bringing total capacity for MMA
monomer production in Thailand to 90,000 tons. |
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