Dow Chemical Co could see its revenues from the fast growing Greater China market, which hit $2.2 billion in 2004, double over the next five years, the firm's chief executive said on Tuesday. CEO Andrew Liveris also said he expected China to become the world's biggest plastics market between 2020 and 2030, and shrugged off concerns that demand for ethylene, a major product for the firm, might be slowing. "I think (our) China (business) has an opportunity over five years to double, in terms of absolute revenues," Liveris told Reuters on the sidelines of a forum in Beijing.
"Doubling would mean growing three times as fast as our global sales, which are growing at three percent," he added.
The US top chemical maker's rapid expansion in China, with sales up 35 percent in 2004 over the previous year, is part of a wider industry expansion.
If the Chinese economy, which grew 9.5 percent last year, continues to expand according to Beijing's expectations, the country's plastics market is likely to become the biggest in the world within the next quarter century, Liveris predicted.
Investment bank JP Morgan on Tuesday cut its rating on the stock of the Midland, Michigan-based firm, whose chemicals are used in everything from paints to car parts, because of concerns that the market for ethylene, one of its major products, was softening.
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