Mitsui Chemicals and Sinopec Agree to Collaborate in EPT Business Area

November 2, 2009
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. with its Head Office in Tokyo, Japan (hereinafter referred to as “MCI”) (Toshikazu Tanaka, President & CEO) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. with its head office in Beijing, China (hereinafter referred to as “Sinopec”) (Wang Tianpu, President)entered into an agreement to conduct a joint study to form a joint venture for EPT business in China.

MCI has evolved its EPT business in Asia for over 4 decades and currently holds the largest market share in the area. In May 2008, the company commenced commercial operation of the world’s largest and state-of-the art EPT plant in its Ichihara Works using metallocene catalysts and futuristic technology. EPT has wide applications especially in automotive parts (weather seals, hoses, etc.) and demand is forecasted to greatly increase generated by the rapid growth of the automotive industry in China. To take advantage of this opportunity, MCI will strengthen its cooperative relationship with Sinopec by strategically using its highly competitive raw materials, infrastructure, and highly skilled human resources to optimize the position of its operations in China and accelerate expansion of market share.

Sinopec, the largest petrochemical company in China, has continued to intensify its high functionality synthetic elastomer business. Sinopec decided to select MCI as its joint venture partner in the EPT business for MCI’s world-class state-of-the-art EPT plants, highly advanced production technology, strong research and development capabilities, expansive distribution network, and other strengths.

Outline of EPT Joint Venture

1.LocationShanghai Petrochemical Area, China
2.BusinessProduction and sales of Mitsui EPT
3.Production Capacity75,000 tons/year
4.Commercial OperationFourth Quarter of 2013