- Region: Asia
- Manufacturing and Services
- Overseas Investment Loans
June 20, 2013
- The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: Hiroshi Okuda) signed today a loan agreement totaling up to 1.6 billion yen (JBIC portion) with Kureha (Changshu) Fluoropolymers Co., Ltd. (KFPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of KUREHA CORPORATION (Kureha) in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The loan is cofinanced by Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. (MHCB), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) which brings the overall cofinancing amount to 3.2 billion yen.
- The loan is intended to finance the manufacturing and sales of vinylidene fluoride resin*1 conducted by KFPC in PRC.
- Kureha has developed and produced a number of functional chemical and resin products for almost seventy years by making full use of its proprietary high polymer technology. In recent years, Kureha has broadened operations to overseas with its sights set on realizing global growth.
- Since vinylidene fluoride resin is not only used mainly for lithium-ion battery, but also for solar battery and water treatment membranes, its demand is expected to expand broadly. Kureha established KFPC in 2012 with an intention to respond speedily and flexibly to increasing demand across the world, including in China; further strengthen and expand business in functional chemical products; and, at the same time, establish the institutional structure for securing a stable supply of its raw material. This loan will, through supporting business operations of Kureha in PRC, contribute to maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of the Japanese chemical industry.
- JBIC will continue to support the overseas business development of Japanese companies by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects and by performing its risk-assuming function.
Note
- *1 Vinylidene fluoride resin is an engineering plastic that demonstrates excellent chemical resistance and electrical properties and is easy to mold as general-use plastic. KUREHA was the first company to commercially produce the resin in Japan, with its production starting in 1970.