The total market for engineering plastics in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand in 2006 was 243,400 t and is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 8.4% to reach around 426,800 t by 2013 according to a report, “Engineering plastics in South East Asia” by management consultant Frost & Sullivan (London / UK; www.chemicals.frost.com). Since 1998 the industry has been through a period of recovery, recording positive growth over the past five years driven in part by stable and healthy economic growth and increasing demand from end-user markets.

The engineering plastics market in southeast Asia (SEA) is one of the most technologically advanced with Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand among the most robust markets, the report says. The current growth levels will continue, with Thailand, the main region for consumption of engineering plastics, driving the growth of the overall engineering plastics market in southeast Asia.

Thailand represents 58.5% of consumption, followed by Malaysia with 23.7% and Singapore with 17.8%, and is expected to maintain higher growth compared with the other countries. By 2013, its share is expected to reach around 67.6% of the total engineering plastics market with the growth driven by the country’s evolution into a core automotive production base and an increase in electrical and household appliance manufacturing.