Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga) is pleased to announce that LABIX Company Limited ("LABIX") of Thailand, a J/V established with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thai Oil Public Company Limited ("Thai Oil"), began production this March of Linear Alkylbenzene ("LAB") with a capacity of 100,000 tons a year, in line with the original plan.

LAB is widely used for the production of detergents as a petroleum-derived raw material, and a stable demand growth for detergents and LAB in the Southeast Asian region is expected with the population increase. The manufacturing facilities for this business are located within the Thai Oil petrochemical and refining complex, and this marks the first LAB-producing company in Southeast Asia to fully integrate the entire manufacturing process from the raw material through the finished products.

Mitsui and Thai Oil have built a strong partnership through many years of transactions centered on petrochemicals product trading. Based on the foundation of that partnership, local-production for local-consumption business model of LABIX, capitalizing on both Thai Oil's stable supply of competitive raw materials and operational expertise and Mitsui's sales network, ensures the competitive advantage of the company.

Mitsui already participates in the manufacturing and sales of palm-oil-derived natural raw materials for detergents and surfactants in Malaysia and China. The start of production at LABIX allows Mitsui to further leverage its strengths in both the naturally derived and petrochemical raw materials businesses for detergents, and by engaging in the entire value chain from raw materials through finished products such as detergents and surfactants to expand its customer relationships and pursue new business development.

Profile of LABIX

Business Structure

LABIX Production Plant

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