Vietnam sees influx of Japanese investments in chemicals

Vietnam has become the new hotbed for chemical-related investment by Japanese companies, next to the established hubs of Singapore and Thailand. Itochu Corp. already has a joint venture with state-owned oil and gas company PetroVietnam for bioethanol production and is planning to participate in the country’s first petrochemical complex, which is currently at the planning stage. The complex, to be set up on the island of Long Son, faces financing issues but negotiations appear to be progressing between PetroVietnam and interested parties such as Itochu, Thailand’s Siam Cement and Qatar’s Qatar Petroleum. A decision is anticipated by the fourth quarter of 2011, with construction to start in 2012. (April 1, 2010)