BASF TO INCREASE INVESTMENT IN CHINA.

SHANGHAI, Aug 1 Asia Pulse - BASF Aktiengesellschaft of Germany, one of the world's leading multinational chemical giants, has announced that it will solely invest in a large chemical project using its latest patented technology in Shanghai.

The announcement was made by Stefan Marcinowski, a member of the board of executive directors of BASF, in Shanghai.

The planned production facility, to be located in the Caojing Chemical Industrial Zone in southern Shanghai, is expected to go into operation in 2004, producing 80,000 tons of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 60,000 tons of polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF) annually. The output of THF will be the highest in the world.

Sources with BASF said the production equipment could turn butane directly into THF and then use THF in manufacturing PolyTHF, resulting in no by-products.

Marcinowski said China's entry into the World Trade Organization had brought about new market opportunities and fiercer competition for foreign companies. Using new technologies could increase production efficiency and beat rivals in terms of cost, thus securing BASF's stand on the world chemical market.

At the same time, Dietmar Nissen, president of BASF East Asia, announced that BASF would select six outstanding Chinese young people from four Chinese universities and send them to BASF's headquarters in Germany to receive three weeks of training.

Sources disclosed that 28 Chinese students had been selected to study in Germany by BASF since 1997, five of whom had joined BASF's subsidiaries in China and were playing a role in technical research and development.