Mitsubishi Chemical Announces: Withdrawal from Petrochemical And Coal Chemical Business

Japan's veteran chemical giant Mitsubishi Chemical has decided to withdraw from the petrochemical and coal chemical businesses in the next few years, leading the country's basic chemical industry to integrate towards carbon neutrality.

On December 1, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Co., Ltd. announced a new business policy called "Shaping the Future", which will cover the end of fiscal year 2025.

Mitsubishi Chemical’s goal is to continue to add value to its stakeholders through a clearer strategy in order to promote operational excellence and release the growth potential of the business.

As Japan takes action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings has decided to withdraw from its petrochemical and coal chemical businesses, which will be split before the 2023 fiscal year.

Mitsubishi Chemical did not clarify how these businesses exited. According to foreign media reports, "In the medium term, our goal is to completely withdraw from these businesses." Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings' foreign chief executive Gilson pointed out at the briefing that rising energy costs will promote the integration of the Japanese chemical industry. He said that these businesses may first merge with another Japanese company, after which Mitsubishi Chemical will exit through a sale or initial public offering.

In the future, Mitsubishi Chemical will position electronics, health and life sciences as a strategic focus, while further enhancing its competitiveness in the field of functional materials such as chemicals, polymers, films, and molding materials.

At the same time, as part of its future management policy, Mitsubishi Chemical has allocated 1.9 trillion yen (16.7 billion U.S. dollars) for group capital expenditures. By fiscal year 2025, about 750 billion yen will be used for "capital expenditure growth" and 570 billion yen will be used for research and development.

Mitsubishi Chemical said that by fiscal year 2025, a series of strategic cost transformation measures will be adopted to save more than 100 billion yen in costs each year.

Japan pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 last year. The country’s major chemical companies have successively announced measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.

Recently, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Co., Ltd. (MCC) formulated relevant policies for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In order to achieve the above goals, it is estimated that about 100 billion yen will be invested in equipment by 2030.