The Dow Chemical Company is well-established in the Yangtze River Delta: four of its seven mainland production facilities are located in the region; a world-class research and development centre and a global information centre will be established in Shanghai; its most important production base in the Asia-Pacific region is in Zhangjiagang; and it plans to invest further in the region.

"This area is strategically located for Dow in China," said Jim McIlvenny, president of Dow Asia Pacific, stressing the two advantages of the area  proximity to its customer base and convenient transportation.

McIlvenny cited the example of Dow's Zhangjiagang plant, where the US firm has already invested US$300 million and will bring in another US$200 million in the coming two years. Over half of its major customers for latex, epoxy and polystyrene have their manufacturing bases within 500 kilometres of the site.

"This plant is also close to the marine jetty on the Yangtze River, which allows the shipping of raw materials and products by barge safely and efficiently," McIlvenny added.

Dow's other facilities in the Yangtze River Delta are located in Ningbo, Nantong and Shanghai.

"The chemical industry is a technology-intensive industry. We look at a host of factors such as availability of feedstock, access and proximity to customers and marketplace, readiness and sophistication of infrastructure, (and we) generate business costs before making a decision to invest," McIlvenny said.

He said that the company will keep working to identify and define the highest value growth opportunities for Dow in China for each of its products, including ethylene and coal chemicals.

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