Bayer to invest $3.4 billion in China
German chemicals company Bayer has announced a massive investment plan in China that will amount to $3.4 billion over the next seven years. Most of the money will go towards a $3.1 billion production facility that is to be built in Caojing, near Shanghai, to manufacture coating raw materials, thermoplastics, polyurethane raw materials and basic chemicals.
Manfred Schneider, chief executive of Bayer, said that an agreement for the project was signed last week with the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Company. He added that the deal was boosted by China’s progress towards membership of the WTO, which he believed would give greater confidence to foreign investors and spur growth in the country’s economy.
Bayer already has a significant presence in China, with sales of $700 million last year, and now hopes to double that figure by 2005. The company has seen sales grow by an average of 17% per year since 1990 and supplies products for a wide range of industries in China, including the textiles, leather and adhesives sector, which accounts for 10% of sales. The investment is the biggest ever undertaken by the German company and reflects Bayer’s faith in the Chinese economy and the Asia-Pacific region.
