Asia will lead the global vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) industry capacity additions accounting for a share of 66% in 2026, by gaining capacity from new-build and expansion projects between 2022 and 2026, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report ‘Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) Industry Installed Capacity and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) Forecast by Region and Countries including details of All Active Plants, Planned and Announced Projects, 2022-2026’ reveals that the total VCM capacity of new-build and expansion projects in Asia is expected to reach 3.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2026.

Sudarshini Ennelli, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “For the upcoming new build projects, the region is expected to add a capacity of 2.61 mtpa from five new build planned and announced projects, whereas for the expansion projects, it is anticipated to add a capacity of 0.76 mtpa from four planned and announced projects.”

China, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam are the major countries in Asia in terms of VCM capacity additions. In China, a significant capacity addition will be from a planned project, Tianjin Bohai Chemical Development Company Tianjin Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) Plant, with the capacity of 0.80 mtpa.

Sudarshini concludes: “With a capacity of 0.60 mtpa, Formosa Plastics Group Ningbo Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) Plant stands second in terms of capacity additions in China, followed by Shenhua Yulin Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) Plant with 0.51 mtpa capacity.”