(Yicai Global) Sept. 17 -- Hengli Petrochemical aims to become the biggest maker of purified terephthalic acid globally as the Chinese chemical giant looks to benefit from sharp increases in the price of the high-performance plastic raw material seen in recent months.

Hengli has put forward a CNY3 billion (USD436 million) plan to boost annual output by 2.5 million tons, Xinhua News Agency-backed Securities Daily reported today. The Dalian-based firm previously proposed a 2.5 million tons increase in output in April as part of a separate expansion plan.

The combined additions would nearly double total capacity to 11.6 million tons making the company the biggest PTA producer globally. Hengli did not confirm a timeframe for the expansions.

PTA is in high demand among chemical firms as a key organic raw material for downstream products of p-xylene and crude oil and the upstream products of polyester, polyester staple fibers, polyester filaments and PET bottle flakes. Prices have increased by half since July reaching CNY9,300 (USD1,350) per ton, up from CNY6,000.

Hengli will tap US chemical intermediates giant Invista for technologies to be used in the expansions, the firm's Security Relations Contact Gao Ming said, adding that the company's latest solutions provide low energy consumption and low cost in investment compared to currently used facilities.

Editor: William Clegg