Ici Drops Chinese Factory Plan

It is thought that ICI had planned to invest several tens of million pounds in the project.

One City analyst said Tuesday the collapse of ICI's joint venture was a setback for the company but good for the industry because of overcapacity in world titanium dioxide making.

ICI said the joint venture with Yu Gang, based at Chongqing in Sichuan province, had reached the stage of a memorandum of under-standing in December last year. Discussions since then had concentrated on the specifics of the deal and matters such as due diligence. It said the decision to end the talks was mutual but declined to give further details.

 

The company remained committed to pursuing a vigorous Asia-Pacific strategy and said it would continue to develop a presence in China. ICI's Chinese paint plant in Guangzhou would continue to be supplied locally with titanium dioxide, the company said. It has started construction of a second paint plant.

Being a world power in paints is a cornerstone of ICI's business strategy. Last month it spent $2.8 million (