East Hope Group Invests in Energy, Petrochemicals in Chongqing

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Liu Yongxing, who was China's richest man in 2001, said at China's non-state economy fortune forum held in early November that his group, East Hope, now has two investment projects in Chongqing Municipality: a $214 million pure terephthalic acid (PTA) project in the Fuling District and a $402 million coal-to-acetic-acid project in the Wansheng District. Liu said his group is still looking for more opportunities.

It was reported that Liu's investment in Fuling for a 600,000-ton-per-annum (TPA) PTA project is the only petrochemical project to have been approved by the state in western China. East Hope will hold 70% of the shares, and the remaining shares will be held by Chongqing Fuling Hydropower Investment Group. The two groups will form Chongqing Pengwei Petrochemical Company to carry out the project. The expected completion date for the project's construction is 2009. The project is part of China’s 10 new key projects toward western development in 2007.

China's present annual PTA need is 12 million tons. Only 5.5 million is domestically made. Production from the project is expected to bring in good income. The estimated annual sales will be $350 million, with $37 million being net profit. Liu said Chongqing provides a favorable investment environment. Besides attending the forum, Liu visited to Chongqing to look for new investment opportunities.

East Hope is a large, private Chinese multinational firm that employs more than 10,000 people. Its core businesses are in agriculture and heavy industry. Its agricultural business centers around animal feed while its heavy industry focuses on aluminum-power integration. East Hope's industrial products exceeded $2.7 billion last year.

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