ICI forms joint venture

JAKARTA (JP): ICI Polyurethanes, a subsidiary of Britain's Imperial Chemical Industry Plc, signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday with PT Tansri Gani to establish a joint venture to produce and distribute polyurethane in Indonesia.

The joint venture, PT ICI Polyurethanes Indonesia, plans to open a production plant at the Jababeka industrial estate in Cikarang, West Java, in 1998 with an initial production capacity of 5,000 tons a year.

ICI Polyurethanes, the majority shareholder, plans to invest around US$200 million in the polyurethanes production plant and its laboratory over the next three years.

Polyurethane is a plastic used for making furniture, electrical equipment, shoes, paints and other products.

ICI has built production plants in the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and China. PT Tansri Gani has two production plants in Jakarta.

ICI Polyurethanes director Chew Eng Soo said the companies started cooperating in 1980s when ICI commissioned Tansri Gani as its Indonesian agent. ICI later licensed Tansri Gani to produce its polyurethane.

"We are pleased to see our longtime cooperation has ended up in us establishing this joint venture," Chew said. (jsk)