(Yicai) Jan. 19 -- BASF said its largest production line for thermoplastic polyurethane has gone into operation at the German chemicals giant's verbund site in the Chinese city of Zhanjiang.

The plant, which was inaugurated yesterday, will enable BASF to meet growing market demand for TPU in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the industrial, e-mobility, and new energy segments, said Martin Jung, president of performance materials at the Ludwigshafen-based firm.

BASF has one more factory at its Zhanjiang site in Guangdong province, which was inaugurated in 2022 and can supply 60,000 metric tons of engineering plastics compounds a year to the Chinese market, according to the company.

"The site is now focusing on building its core of the verbund, including a steam cracker and several downstream plants to produce petrochemicals and intermediates, among others," said Haryono Lim, president of BASF's mega projects in Asia.

BASF is dedicated to building the site as a sustainable and smart production role model, he added.

With a total investment of EUR10 billion (USD10.9 billion), the Zhanjiang site will be BASF's largest investment when completed. It will also be its third-largest verbund site globally, following those in Ludwigshafen and Antwerpen, Belgium.

BASF's net profit tumbled 57 percent to EUR1.8 billion (USD2 billion) in the nine months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, according to its latest earnings report. Sales sank 22 percent to EUR53 billion, with China accounting for EUR7.1 billion, due to lower prices in the chemicals sector.

Editor: Martin Kadiev