PTT Global Chemical Plc's (PTTGC) new joint venture plant for speciality petrochemical products is set to commercially launch in early 2022 as part of efforts to boost revenue and the profit ratio generated by high value-added (HVA) products to more than 30%.
The country's largest petrochemical company entered into a joint venture agreement with Kuraray Co, Japan's leading petrochemical company, and Sumitomo Corporation to build a production facility for high-heat resistant polyamide-9T (PA9T) and hydrogenated styrenic block co-polymer (HSBC) at the Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate in Rayong's Map Ta Phut.
PTTGC will own a 33.4% stake in the new company, Kuraray GC Advanced Materials Co, while Kuraray will hold 53.3% and Sumitomo will hold 13.3%. The joint venture firm will have an initial registered capital of 10 million baht, and the capital will be raised later in line with the company's investment plans, said Supattanapong Punmeechaow, PTTGC's president and chief executive.
The three companies have been jointly conducting a feasibility study since 2016 and completed a front-end engineering design study for the project.
PA9T and HSBC are raw materials that produce automotive parts, electrical appliances and electronics. Their prices are 8-10 times that of commodity-grade plastic or general-grade plastic.
"This investment will play a key role in further developing Thailand's chemical sector and contributing to the country's economic growth, sharpening competitive edge and being a driver for the Thailand 4.0 initiative," said Mr Supattanapong.
PTTGC will supply raw materials, butadiene and isobutene, to the plant, which has an annual production capacity of 13,000 tonnes for PA9T and 16,000 tonnes for HSBC.
Kuraray's president and director said demand for the two speciality chemicals grew nearly 10% each year and both have strong growth potential in coming years.
He said Kuraray could collaborate with PTTGC to produce other speciality products in the future.
PTTGC expects to diversify its speciality chemicals over the next several years, in line with its policy to avoid partaking in the fierce competition among industrial peers in Asia-Pacific.
In the meantime, Patiphan Sukhonthaman, chief operating officer for downstream, said speciality petrochemicals, classified as HVAs, would account for over 30% of PTTGC's revenue and profit after 2022, up substantially from below 10% last year.
The company's next project may be polylactic acid polymer production plant, which was initiated in 2011, but was stalled due to the recent global slowdown.
PTTGC shares closed yesterday on the SET at 77.50 baht, down 50 satang, in trade worth 1.88 billion baht.