BMI's Executive Summary

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The Sector At A Glance

Key Insights On The Petrochemicals Sector Of South Korea

Market Structure

South Korea has a well-developed petrochemicals industry, which is ranked fifth in the world. The country’s petrochemicals industry has developed substantially because of increased private sector investments and general development of the economy. The county is also an exporter of petrochemical products. Major petrochemical production facilities in South Korea are located at three main centres namely, Ulsan, Yeochun, and Daesan. Yeochun and Daesan have a capacity to produce 1.6mn tonnes per annum (tpa) of ethylene, whereas Ulsan has a capacity of under 1mn tpa of ethylene.

Exports

In January-September 2006, the country exported 488,581tpa of low density/linear low-density polyethylene (LD/LLDPE), 867,810tpa of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 384,472tpa of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), 826,642tpa of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and 644,544tpa of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Expansion Plans

Korea Petrochemical Industry Company (KPIC) plans to establish a 20,000tpa plant for gasoline, benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX). The company would invest KRW45.5bn (US$48.5mn) in South Korea for the plant to be operational in 2008. South Korean Kumho P&B Chemicals plans to install a 130,000tpa third line for bisphenol A at Yeosu in South Korea. South Korean firms Samsung Total Petrochemicals and Lotte Daesan Petrochemical were earlier planning to establish two separate 10,000tpa propylene plants. However, they have now decided to jointly establish one 20,000tpa propylene plant.

Industry Forecast Scenario

According to BMI, the Korean petrochemical industry is likely to gain momentum in the coming years, on the back of growing demand for petrochemical products globally. The South Korean petrochemical companies have planned to invest KRW3.5trn (US$3.7bn) to increase their production capacities and enhance product quality.

Contents

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Chapter 1 - Executive Summary

Market Structure

Exports

Expansion Plans

Industry Forecast Scenario

Table: South Korea Petrochemicals Industry SWOT

Table: South Korea Economic SWOT

Table: South Korea Business Environment SWOT

Chapter 2 - Market Overview

Market Structure

Table: South Korean Cracker Capacities: 2002-2007 ('000 tpa)

Exports

Table: Polymer Exports (tpa) for 2006

Table: Exports (tpa) in September 2006

Market Developments

Chapter 3 - Industry Trends And Developments

Recent Trends

Projects Undertaken In Other Countries

Regulatory And Business Environment Developments

Hyundai Restructuring

Chapter 4 - Industry Forecast Scenario

Table: South Korea Sector Forecasts

Chapter 5 - Economic Outlook

Table: GDP, Output & Population

Business Environment Outlook

Chapter 6 - Company Monitor

Hanwha Chemical

Honam Petrochemical Corporation

LG Chem

LG Petrochemicals

SK Corporation

Samsung Total Petrochemicals

Samsung – BP Chemicals

BASF

Korea Petrochemicals Industrial Company

GS Caltex (LG Caltex)

Chapter 7 - BMI Forecast Modelling

How we generate our industry forecasts

Chemicals & Petrochemicals Industry

Cross checks

Competitive Landscape for Asia Petrochemicals Reports: Sample of Companies Ranked

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Comparative company analyses and rankings by US$ sales, % market share, employee size, registration date and ownership structure. Company SWOTs (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) on all leading international and national operators in each market, including competitive intelligence in the following: Overall geographic presence, competitive positioning against local companies; production capacity, sales and market share; joint ventures, foreign direct investment, projects and acquisitions strategy.