APIC 2009
ContInued from PAge 5
says. Other priorities include customising
products to meet customer
needs and providing technical
services and backup. Heavily
dependent on exports, South
Korean companies must also seek
new target markets. ‘We are
exporting more than half of our
petrochemical products, mostly to
Asia, so it is important to diversify
markets and make inroads into
Europe, Middle and South America,
and Africa.’
Raising the competitiveness of
the three petrochemical complexes
in Yeosu, Ulsan and Daesan is also
necessary. ‘These complexes have a
good enough foundation to
survive,’ says Hur. ‘However, these
Korean complexes are small in size
and less competitive than the
upcoming projects of multinational
companies.’ Agility in the face of
new competition will be essential.
Co-operation between companies at
the same site will also help to
maximise efficiency, for example
by allowing effective exploitation
of byproducts and optimisation of
utility costs.
The same issues of how to maintain
and improve competitiveness
apply to petrochemical producers
the world over.
The state of the Chinese market
is another source of major concern.
Asian markets have been the
growth engine for global petrochemicals,
and China’s market has
been at the centre of this growth for
many years. South Korean petrochemical
producers are particularly
dependent on exports to the China
market.
Hur notes that ‘the global
recession has severely impacted
exports from China and its
domestic market has entered into a
very difficult phase compared with
the past. Moreover, the supply
volume in China will increase due
to the new projects so the
competition will be tougher.’
At the same time, Hur believes
that the downturn will not be as
serious as it might have been
because countries have been quick
THE CHEMICAL DAILY
� Countries have been quick to work
together... and have spent huge sums
to stave off the worst of the collapse
to work together to deal with the
problem and have spent huge sums
to stave off the worst of the
collapse. Nonetheless, he
recognises that it is difficult to
predict the future clearly at present,
making the current situation
exceptionally uncertain.
Thus APIC will be held this year
amid unprecedented harsh
conditions, although Hur believes
that may not be a bad thing.
‘I am pleased to have APIC in
this kind of situation,’ he says.
‘Asia is a real global player in the
petrochemical industry and this is
an opportunity for many leaders
and concerned parties to attend and
hold serious and effective
discussions with a view to
finding solutions to the current
problems.’
Hur also emphasises the importance
of maintaining free trade. As
a rule, he says, the tougher the
economic situation, the more
conspicuous the protectionism.
During the Great Depression in
1929, world trade shrank drastically
due to protectionism by countries
concerned to salvage their own
economies.
‘Our industry must stand united
to protect the free trade system and
avoid any tendency towards
protectionism,’ he says. ‘We must
co-operate with each other across
national boundaries on this point.’ �
6 Prepared for APIC 2009 by The Chemical Daily and ICIS
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