Huntsman, BASF and a group of Chinese companies - Shanghai Hua Yi (Group Company), Sinopec Shanghai Gao Qiao Petrochemical Corporation and Shanghai Chloro-Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd - are considering the construction of a new MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) plant in China to meet growing demand for this product. According to a statement from Huntsman, several sites for the plant are being evaluated. The start-up is planned from 2010 onward, and the plant is expected to have a capacity of 400,000 metric tons per year of crude MDI, to be sold and marketed separately by Huntsman and BASF.

"The market for polyurethanes in China is growing at double-digit rates and this is expected to continue well into the next decade," said Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman's Polyurethanes division.

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