TOKYO, December 18, 2008_ Ube Industries, Ltd. today announced that it has signed a memorandum of agreement with PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) to study the future establishment of joint chemicals businesses in Thailand, in segments such as caprolactam and synthetic rubber. PTT is a publicly-listed corporation with natural gas, oil refining and petrochemical operations in Thailand.
Ube Industries through its local subsidiaries has been engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of caprolactam, nylon and synthetic rubber in Thailand since 1993. These subsidiaries have grown to become important cornerstones of Ube Industries' present chemicals business. In 2005, Ube Industries opened an R&D Center in Thailand to engage in development activities for nylon and synthetic rubber, and the Company is actively pursuing plans to build new production facilities for 1,6-hexanediol (1,6-HDL) in Thailand as part of its fine chemicals business. Thailand is an important strategic base of operations for Ube Industries, and a market in which the Company intends to actively expand its investments in the future.
PTT was originally established by the Thai Ministry of Industry in 1978 as a crown corporation entirely owned and operated by the Thai government, and was later incorporated as a public company in 2001, when the corporation changed to its current name. PTT is the largest publicly-listed corporation in Thailand and its main operations are in the natural gas and oil sectors. In 2007, PTT recorded consolidated net sales of 1.4 trillion bahts (equivalent to roughly ¥5.7 trillion). PTT also engages in other business operations through affiliates such as PTT Exploration and Production Plc., which is involved in natural gas exploration, PTT Aromatics and Refining Public Co., Ltd., which manufactures aromatic petrochemicals and refines oil, and PTT Chemical Public Co., Ltd., which produces olefin petrochemicals.
The memorandum of agreement between Ube Industries and PTT to study the future establishment of joint chemicals businesses meets the objectives of both companies. For PTT, the collaboration represents an opportunity to strengthen its chain of products and services by expanding into the manufacturing of downstream products, building on PTT's rich access to chemical raw materials. For Ube Industries, the collaboration provides an avenue to secure reliable supplies of raw materials and further expand its business operations in Thailand, as part of global operations for the manufacturing and marketing of chemical products. Under the collaboration, Ube Industries and PTT will study the future establishment of commercial operations in a wide range of chemicals sectors, in addition to the caprolactam, nylon and synthetic rubber segments for which Ube Industries already has production operations in Thailand.
Formal signing of memorandum of agreement between Ube Industries and PTT
(at Tokyo Headquarters of Ube Industries)
Prajya Phinyawat, Chief Operating Officer, PTT Public Company Limited (left), and Nobuyuki Takahashi, Company President of Chemicals & Plastics Company, Ube Industries, Ltd. (right)
| Established | October 2001 |
|---|---|
| Head Office Location | Bangkok, Thailand |
| CEO and President | Prasert Bunsumpun |
| Capitalization | 28.174 billion bahts |
| Main business segments | Natural gas, oil refining, manufacturing and marketing of oil and petrochemical products |
| Employees | 3,288 (as of December 31, 2007) |
Thai Subsidiaries of Ube Industries
| Established | December 1990(Ube Industries a shareholder since October 1993) |
|---|---|
| Location | Bangkok, Thailand (Head Office) and Rayong, Thailand (Plant) |
| CEO and President | Charunya Phichitkul Managing Executive Officer of Ube Industries |
| Capitalization | 8.576 billion bahts |
| Main shareholders | Ube Industries, Ltd. (91%), Marubeni Group (7%) |
| Main business activities | Manufacturing and marketing of caprolactam and ammonium sulfate |
| Annual production capacity | 110,000 tons of caprolactam, 460,000 tons of ammonium sulfate |
| Employees | 411 (as of June 31, 2008) |
| Established | June 1995 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bangkok, Thailand (Head Office) and Rayong, Thailand (Plant) |
| CEO and President | Charunya Phichitkul Managing Executive Officer of Ube Industries |
| Capitalization | 228 million bahts |
| Main shareholders | Ube Industries, Ltd. (100%) |
| Main business activities | Manufacturing and marketing of nylon 6 |
| Annual production capacity | 25,000 tons of nylon 6 |
| Employees | 82 (as of June 31, 2008) |
| Established | November 1995 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bangkok, Thailand (Head Office) and Rayong, Thailand (Plant) |
| CEO and President | Charunya Phichitkul Managing Executive Officer of Ube Industries |
| Capitalization | 1.106 billion bahts |
| Main shareholders | Ube Industries, Ltd. (73.1%), TSRC Corporation of Taiwan (13%), Marubeni Corporation (13%) |
| Main business activities | Manufacturing and marketing of polybutadiene |
| Annual production capacity | 72,000 tons of polybutadiene |
| Employees | 91 (as of June 31, 2008) |
