For some polymer products – polycarbonate is a prime example – Asia is already the most important market. Major players such as Bayer MaterialScience (BMS, Leverkusen / Germany; www.bayerbms.com) have taken account of this fact by moving the headquarters of the business to Shanghai / China, for example. But despite its vast size and population, the People’s Republic is not the only country worth watching, Messe Düsseldorf (www.k-online.de), organiser of K 2013, the world’s largest trade fair for plastics and rubber, points out in a comprehensive look at Southeast Asian markets.

In particular, the fair organiser says, the ten countries of the ASEAN community (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) offer an interesting perspective, with a 600m consumer base and GDP of EUR 1.5 bn. Currently anchored to the US and Europe for exports, the ASEAN countries are increasingly catering to regional customers, which has buffered them against the global crisis and led to reliable growth of 9% annually. Worth noting, the authors of the report say, is that due to a number of regional pacts, trade barriers will diminish, starting in 2015.

According to a study by consultants Frost & Sullivan, improved economic conditions and favourable manufacturing environments have drawn “significant investments” to the engineering plastics markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Sales of engineering plastics in the five countries combined were worth EUR 1.6 bn combined in 2011 and could rise as high as EUR 3.2 bn by 2018. Growth rates of 10-15% are forecast over the next eight years, thanks especially to “robust sales” to the electrical appliances and automotive sectors.

The PVC-based wood-plastics composites (WPC) industry is also an up and comer in Southeast Asia. The fledgling industry is forecast to grow by 10% per year to 55,000 t by 2015. Compared to China’s 1m t/y capacity, Southeast Asia’s WPC output is relatively small but it is more export oriented, says Messe Düsseldorf. From 2008 to 2011 production rose to 34,000 t/y. Singapore is the Asian hub for printed or organic electronics, including “green” electronics, bioelectronics and security devices, according to the country’s Economic Development Board (EDB). The innovative products also include “smart” plastic packaging that can detect food expiration. Through nanotechnology, Singapore's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) has pioneered a breakthrough polymeric material for use in electronic and thin-film solar cells to lower costs and speed up the production process of semi-conductors.

After Japan and China, Thailand is becoming a key player in the biorenewables market, which Frost & Sullivan expects to grow at a rate of over 19% up to 2018. The government’s strategy hinges largely on polylactic acid (PLA), for which capacity is forecast to rise from 182,000 t/y in 2011 to 721,000 t/y by 2021. As domestic demand is still weak, most of the output will continue to be exported, Messe Düsseldorf says. In 2012, Thailand’s largest plastics manufacturer, PTT Chemical Public, acquired a 50% stake in key North American PLA player, Natureworks, which accounts for 85% of world capacity. Bio-based plastics also are said to enjoy solid government support in Malaysia and Indonesia. Thailand is additionally a hub of Asia’s car industry, which is seen as growing at more than 8% of GDP.

Medical devices are a dynamic market for plastics, with a global market value of around EUR 46.7 bn. Malaysia is one of the most successful countries in this field in Asia, with an estimated sales value of EUR 0.84 bn in 2011 and projected value of EUR 1.27 bn in 2015. Tagged as a priority sector by the government, the Malaysia medical devices sector is readying itself to supply the growing regional demand, according to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority. The country is already a base for some 190 manufacturers.

With overall plastics consumption of 3m t in Indonesia in 2011, almost 70% was used by the food and beverage industry. The southeast Asian country is an emerging giant in packaging, with revenues growing by 11% year-on-year in 2012 to EUR 3.27 bn. Assuming annual growth rates of 10%, sales of packaging are expected to double by 2016. Indonesia also is forecast to account for 40% of ASEAN’s annual growth in demand for light vehicles by 2019.

Vietnam is said to be metamorphosing into a potential global plastics industry player, with annual growth rates averaging 15-20%. According to the Vietnam Plastics Association, revenue from plastics exports is expected to widen by 13.5% to a value of EUR 1.5 bn in 2013, an increase of 42% against 2011. At EUR 1.2 bn, finished plastics goods account for the bulk of output. For the past five years, Japan has been the largest export market. Messe Düsseldorf points out that, with little polymer production, Vietnam still relies heavily on imports. Output of PP, for example, is 150,000 t/y against demand of 2.5m t/y.

The plastics industry in the Philippines has bucked a number of headwinds recently. Most notably, the sector in early 2011 opposed the 15% levy on imported plastic resin from non-ASEAN countries. High oil prices and energy costs have also dogged the industry, and a recent ban on plastic bags has resulted in industry-wide downsizing of manufacturing facilities. Low domestic demand for automobiles is also leading carmakers to close assembly lines, which is hitting consumption of engineering plastics. PVC is benefiting from the 6% building industry growth, however.