SCIENTEX Bhd, a packaging company and a property developer, will tie up with Japan's Mitsui Chemicals Tohcello Inc to manufacture ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) sheets for solar cells- The EVA sheets will be manufactured in a plant in Bukit Rambai Industrial Estate, Malacca- Production will begin around August next year- The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes during its first phase- The construction of the plant, which will be build on a land that belongs to Scientex, is expected to start in the middle of the year- Both companies declined to disclose how much the plant will cost- What is revealed is that they have agreed to form a joint-venture company, MCTI Scientex Solar Sdn Bhd, in which both have equal stakes- MCTI Scientex Solar is expected to have a issued and paid-up capital of RM45 million, comprising 45 million shares of RM1 each- Scientex's portion of RM22-5 million will be financed via its internally-generated funds- The partnership allows Mitsui Chemicals Tohcello to expand its business in the Asia market- Currently, it has a plant in Nagoya that is expected to have a capacity of 40,000 tonnes a year this year- The output is only enough to meet the demand in Japan and China- The plant in Malacca, once kicked off production, is expected to serve the demand in Malaysia, Singapore and Europe- "Most of the production will be for Malaysia and Singapore, the balance will be for the Europe market," said Yasuhiro Kamio, executive officer of Mitsui Chemicals Inc, which owns 100 per cent stake in Mitsui Chemicals Tohcello Inc- Mitsui Chemicals expects to expand its global market share to 30 per cent in 2013, from 20 per cent currently, helped by the Malacca plant- For Scientex, the tie-up allows it to venture into a business with growing potential- "It represents a strategic opportunity for Scientex to actively participate in the exponential growth in global demand for renewable energy, specifically solar films," said Scientex managing director Lim Peng Jin- It expects the tie-up to contribute positively to the group's future earnings- Scientex shares on Bursa Malaysia declined 5 sen to RM2-64 yesterday-...

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