Advertisement

Bayer to spend €1 billion on China expansion

Author thumbnail
Bayer to spend €1 billion on China expansion
Photo: DPA

Germany's Bayer Group said Thursday it would spend €1 billion ($1.3 billion) over five years to expand its high-tech materials business in China to capitalise on the growing economy.

Advertisement

The company will invest in five separate projects to expand its production facilities in Shanghai, the financial hub of the world's second largest economy, Bayer said in a statement.

The new investment is in addition to Bayer's €2.1 billion investment in the city as part of a long-term project due to be completed in 2012. The latest plan signals Bayer will intensify its focus on the Asia Pacific region, where it expects consistent growth in its customer industries, the company said.

"The strong economic growth in China and in the whole region offers us outstanding opportunities, and we want to make the most of them," Bayer MaterialScience chief executive Patrick Thomas said in the statement.

It also announced Thursday plans to move the headquarters of its polycarbonates business to Shanghai from Leverkusen in western Germany and expand its Shanghai research and development centre for polymers.

Polycarbonates are a type of plastic used in the automotive, electronic and construction industries.

China's economy expanded 9.6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter. The World Bank expects the economy to grow 10 percent this year before slowing to 8.7 percent in 2011.

AFP/mry

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also