[THE INVESTOR] Chemical and battery firm LG Chem said on Aug28 that it will focus on high value petrochemicals as part of its moves to boost its competitiveness and sales.

With an aim to raise the sales of high value petrochemicals from the current 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) to 7 trillion won by 2020, the company will expand the polyolefine products with its exclusive technology. This will lead to better quality of polyester and polypropylene, it said. 

By 2018, the company will inject 400 billion won in to raising the production of elastomer. Elastomer, a type of high value synthetic resin, is only produced by four companies in the world.

LG Chem, the world’s top producer of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), will also gradually double the production of ABS in its factory in China to 300,000 tons. 

While expanding the high value petrochemicals business, the company will continue its original business of Naphtha Cracking Center (NCC) that produces basic sources of petrochemicals.

The company will also consider enlarging the ethylene production. As of now, the company runs the largest ethylene production facilities with capacity of 2.2 million tons in Korea. 

By Lee Hyun-jeong/The Korea Herald (rene@heraldcorp.com)