Signs agreement with TOYOBO of Japan _ base_d on latter’s 15%-stake investment in SKC China’s PET film plant

Participation of TOYOBO, high-performance film maker, to boost product competiveness 

TOYOBO acquires 15% stake in Chinese concern 

SKC (CEO Park Jang-suk) said, on March 13, that it had signed a contract with TOYOBO, Japan’s specialized maker of high-performance materials, _ base_d on the latter’s stake investment in SKC Jiangsu Hightech Plastics, SKC China’s film plant. TOYOBO will secure a 15 percent stake in SKC Jiangsu Hightech Plastics, and thus become the third largest stakeholder in the Chinese operation, after SKC and SKC China. SKC Jiangsu Hightech Plastics was established in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China, in August 2011, with the aim of gaining the upper hand in China’s PET (polyethylene terephthalate) market. The company was launched as a joint venture by SKC China, and its Japanese client firms invested a 10 percent stake. After its establishment, the company began construction of a production plant, which is slated to open in this year’s second quarter.

Investment seen to generate synergistic effect from global joint venture in PET film 

TOYOBO is a world leading maker of functional PET film and thread. The company posted 349.5 billion yen (about 4.08 trillion won) in sales in 2011. It was the first company in the world to commercialize shrinkable film and optical film, and is considered the world’s best in high-performance film technology.

President Park Jang-suk said, “Through the strategic alliance between TOYOBO, which boasts the world’s best technology in high-performance PET film, and SKC, which is expanding its global production _ base_ to include China, after the U.S. (Georgia plant), we expect to reduce the period required for the development of new products and further enhance our product competitiveness in the global market.” SKC Jiangsu Hightech Plastics in China is expected to secure market competitiveness for eco-friendly, high-performance film, particularly shrinkable film, in a short time by generating a synergistic effect between the global business capacity of SKC, which possesses global production _ base_s and a global sales network, and the high-performance film technology of TOYOBO. 

To consolidate No. 1 position in market share of solar cells, optical and shrinkable PET films 

China is the world’s largest PET film market and is seeing the portion of this industry gradually expand due to the advancement of its industrial structure. Notably, solar cells, optical, and shrinkable firms (considered high-performance PET firms) have witnessed constantly rising demand due to the growth of China’s solar cell module industry, massive expansion of LCD panel production, and the introduction of eco-friendly packaging containers. With the construction of SKC Jiangsu Hightech Plastics in China, SKC aims to further consolidate its global No. 1 position in the high-performance PET film market by gaining the upper hand in the Chinese market and establishing a global production system, with a combined PET film output of 300,000 tons by 2015.