ICI boosts Indonesian presence

JP/msa

JAKARTA (JP): ICI Plc's move earlier this year to take over Unilever's chemical division will significantly boost the company's presence in Indonesia, a senior company executive said here yesterday.

ICI plc vice president Peter Kirby said Unilever's chemical division, which includes Quest, Crosfield, Unichema and National Starch, has already operated in Indonesia for a long time.

He said Quest, which produces a food flavoring and fragrance, had been operating in Indonesia for over 30 years. Quests' Asia- Pacific headquarters is located in Jakarta.

Crosfield, a silica producer, was building a plant in Surabaya which would become its first business arm in the Asia Pacific region, Kirby said.

National Starch was building an adhesives plant adjacent to this, he said, adding that both plants were scheduled to start commercial production next year.

"These companies are a significant addition to ICI's presence in Indonesia, which currently consists of PT ICI Indonesia, PT ICI Surfactants Indonesia and PT ICI Paints Indonesia," he said in his speech at the opening of ICI Paints' new plant in Cikarang, West Java.

Pictured above (from left to right) Effendi Soedarsono, the director general of basic metal, machinery and chemical industries of the ministry of industry and trade, Kirby, the vice president of ICI Plc, P. Jain, the general manager of PT ICI Paints Indonesia and Krisnadi the plant manager inspect the new plant production facilities.

In August, ICI Plc acquired Unilever Speciality Chemical Division, consisting of Quest, National Starch, Unichema and Crosfield for US$8 billion.

To partly pay for the acquisition, ICI divested 62.4 percent in ICI Australia for over $1.5 billion and sold its polyester and dioxide businesses for $3 billion.

PT ICI Paints Indonesia, 55 percent owned by ICI Omecron BV and 45 percent by its local partner PT Dwi Satria Utama, has invested about Rp 50 billion (US$17.24 million) since its operation in Indonesia 25 years ago, Kirby said following the official opening of the paint plant. (aly)