Bayer, the Germany-based chemical and health care product giant, plans to buy 300 million euros worth of equipment on international markets for its operations at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in this largest metropolis of East China.

Under a procurement understanding memorandum signed recently between Bayer and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Corporation, the equipment to be imported will be used for an integrated polymer production base designed by the Germany-based transnational at the park.

All of the equipment should meet the world-class criteria in safety and environmental protection, according to the memorandum.

The first batch of purchases of the equipment will cost about 60 million euros, the memorandum says.

Bayer's integrated polymer base at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park will take an estimated investment of US$3.1 billion. The base will embrace a polycarbonate production facility, a coating plant and coating raw materials project.

The polycarbonate project, with a designed annual production capacity of 200,000 tons, and the coating project, at an estimated construction cost of 150 million yuan (US$18.07 million), have been completed.

The coating raw materials project, which will be capable of producing 50,000 tons of HDI (hexamethylene diisocyanate) as raw materials for paint and cohesives, is under preparation. Construction work is expected to start in the second half of this year.

Prior to the procurement accord, Bayer signed another understanding memorandum on technology transfer related to coatings production with the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Corporation.

The equipment import would facilitate the technology share between Bayer and China, said Ruan Yanhua, president of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Corporation.

In 2003 Bayer garnered 1.1 billion euros in sales on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
 
(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2004)