News

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. [Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Chairman Chihiro Kanagawa], Jiangsu Fasten Hongsheng Group Co., Ltd. [Head Office: Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China; President Zhou Jiang] and TKH Group NV [Head Office: Haaksbergen, The Netherlands; President: J.M.A. (Alexander) van der Lof] have decided to carry out local production of optical fiber preform and set up a joint-venture in Jiangsu, China.

A joint-venture company that will engage in the manufacture and sale of optical fiber preform will be set up. In the joint-venture, Shin-Etsu Chemical has a share of 75% and Fasten and TKH each 12.5%. The capital will be ¥ 4 billion and the start of plant’s operation is scheduled be in the latter half of 2011.

The location of the plant is in a high-tech industrial park in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, about 150 km northwest of Shanghai, and land area is 135,000 m².

In China, with the increase in the volume of communication data with the development of an improved infrastructure, demand for optical fiber is increasing greatly and a strong growth in the market is expected in the future as well.

The agreement entered into by the three companies at this time concerning the establishment of joint-venture company was due to the confluence of interests of Shin-Etsu Chemical, which intends to strengthen its sales of optical fiber preform in China, and Fasten and TKH, both of which want to expand production and sales of optical fiber and optical cable in China.

So far, Shin-Etsu Chemical has supplied optical fiber preform to China through exports from Japan. This time, with the establishment of the joint-venture company with both companies, creating the production system that is directly connected to the demand area. Shin-Etsu will aim to expand its preform business by taking advantage of rising capture Chinese market demand, which is the most vigorous in the world market.

The optical fiber market size in China is about half of the total world market, as of last year, and its growth is expected to be the driving force of the world market in the future.

Outline of the joint-venture company
1) Company name: Shin-Etsu (Jiangsu) Optical Preform Co., Ltd.
2) Address: Jiangyin Industrial Park, Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China
3) Chairman: Hidenori Onezawa
4) Main business: Manufacturing and sales of optical fiber preform
5) Date of establishment: November 2010 (scheduled)
6) Capital: ¥ 4 billion
7) Capital ratio: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.: 75%
Jiangsu Fasten Hongsheng Group Co., Ltd.:12.5%
TKH Group NV:12.5%8) Production capacity: The equivalent of 8,000,000 km/year of optical fiber

[Brief Profile of Jiangsu Fasten Hongsheng Group]
Fasten has its home base in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province and is a high-tech enterprise with metal products as its core business, optical fiber, optical cable and optical parts, and its key subsidiaries Jiangsu Fasten Photonics Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Fasten Optical Cable are manufacturing optical fiber and optical cable. For further details, please visit Fasten Group’s web-site at:
www.chinafasten.com

[Brief Profile of TKH Group]
Technology company TKH Group NV (The Netherlands) is an internationally operating group of companies, specializing in creating and supplying innovative Telecom, Building and Industrial Solutions. TKH specialises in solutions rather than certain types of activity. In TKH’s business segments Telecom, Building and Industrial Solutions basic technologies in the fields of ICT and electro-technology from the various operating companies are combined – frequently in partnership with suppliers – to develop total solutions. Growth is concentrated in North West and Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit TKH Group’s web-site:
www.tkhgroup.com