Lanxess to hike capex in Asia

Germany’s largest specialty chemical company Lanxess AG plans to boost investment substantially in emerging markets to capitalize on booming local demand and robust growth, according to CEO Axel Heitmann. More than 38% of Lanxess’ capital expenditure will have been directed toward Asia and Latin America by 2012, compared with less than 20% in 2005, he said. “A key aspect of our strategy was to focus on the fastest-growing markets for our products, especially in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries,” he said. Heitmann said that the company aims to increase its operating profit by 80% to 1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) in the next five years. With the tire market being Lanxess’ largest customer industry, the company expects the business to grow at an annual rate of 5% in the next five years. (September 17, 2010)