The Jilin Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. based in Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province, has recently signed an agreement with the ENKA company from Germany to launch a joint venture to produce viscose filament in the city.

 

Under the accord, the joint venture will require an estimated total investment of 337 million yuan (US$41.5 million), with US$20 million in registered capital. The Jilin company will hold 70 percent of the stake, and the German company, the remaining 30 percent.

 

The project will have a designed annual production capacity of 5,000 tons of viscose filament, a kind of chemical materials to be used in making polyester and other related fabrics, an official with the Jilin Chemical Fiber said. Sixty percent of the output will be sold solely by the ENKA to the European market.

 

The Jilin Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. is the parent company of the Jilin Chemical Fiber Group. Wang Jinjun, chairman of the group, said the joint-venture project will increase the group's viscose filament production to 27,000 tons a year.

 

One of the world's top five viscose filament suppliers, ENKA is the only company to boast the CHEV filament continuous spinning technology. The 106-year-old company said this is the first time it has shared its patented technology with another company.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2006)