PTT, one of Thailand’s leading SET-listed companies, is about to move into the field of bio-plastics by way of its subsidiary PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC).
Thailand’s leading petrochemical company announced it would establish a 50:50 joint venture with one of the country’s leading sugar makers to set up what would be the first bio-plastic industrial estate. The venture is expected to cost around five billion baht.
PTT announced it has a plan to turn Thailand into the bio-plastic hub of the Asean region, recognizing the rising demand for bio-plastics across Southeast Asia and Asia in general.
The PTTG president and chief executive Supatanapong Punmeechaow was quoted as saying, “We are planning to locate the industrial estate in the central region, where farmers grow plenty of sugarcane. Then, we plan to make it a one-stop place from growing sugarcane, producing sugar, making ethanol, generating electricity from biomass-based power plants and setting up a bio-plastic manufacturing plant.”
The joint venture deal should be finalized before the end of this year and the period from planning to final construction of the plant and installation of equipment is expected to take around two and a half years. Given the expected time frame and allowing for delays, the project should be up and running by the middle of 2018.
PTTGC management believe if the bio-plastics plant can be successfully established this will encourage the world’s largest biopolymer producer, NatureWorks, to set up a polylactic-acid manufacturing plant in Thailand, which would be worth around 6.8 billion baht.
PTTGC has allocated three per cent of its annual net profit for research and development on high-value products. It is planning to set revenue targets from high-value products that will reach 20 percent of its petrochemical revenue within the next decade. Presently, revenue from high-value products accounts for just four percent.[3]