(Yicai) July 24 -- Chinese chemicals giant Wanhua Chemical Group has signed an agreement with a foreign consortium that includes Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to set up a joint venture to build an integrated polyolefin complex in China.

The plant will be located in Fuzhou, Fujian province and have an annual production capacity of 1.6 million tons of polyolefins, a family of thermoplastics that include polyethylene and polypropylene, Yantai-based Wanhua announced yesterday.

The consortium, whose other members are Australian plastics maker Borealis and Borouge, a petrochemicals firm headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, will own half of the JV formed with Wanrong New Materials, Wanhua’s petrochemicals and polyolefins unit, that will build the plant.

The tie-up will leverage Borstar, Borealis' advanced proprietary technology for producing PE and PP, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by using complete zero-carbon electricity to promote sustainable development and environmental protection.

Wanhua expects the project to enhance its competitiveness in specialty polyolefins and help advance the firm’s internationalization strategy. Wanhua began expanding overseas in 2006 and entered the European market in 2011 by acquiring Hungarian methylene diphenyl diisocyanate firm BorsodChem.

Shares of Wanhua [SHA: 600309] gave up 0.2 percent to close at CNY79.29 (USD10.15) each in Shanghai today, after falling 2.4 percent yesterday.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was one of Wanhua's 10 largest shareholders at the end of the first quarter of the year, with a 0.7 percent stake.

Editor: Futura Costaglione