Mitsui Chemicals Inc. said Friday it has agreed with Chinese petrochemical company Sinopec Corp. to form a joint venture to make a high-performance plastic component used in home electronics and optical discs.
The chemical company said the 50-50 joint venture will be set up in Shanghai in December for the manufacture of bisphenol A, found in such plastics as highly transparent and durable polycarbonate and widely used to make automobile parts and DVDs.
The joint venture will build a plant capable of producing 120,000 tons of bisphenol A annually, with the start of construction due for next January and completion in July 2006, Mitsui Chemicals said.