Singapore's Fortrec acquires Aromatic Solvents Refinery in Ulsan, Korea

SINGAPORE,March 6,2019 -- Singapore headquartered Fortrec has completed the acquisition of and re-started its refurbished aromatic solvents refinery in Ulsan,Korea. The facility,which has a sixty thousand (60,000) tonne a year capacity for producing aromatic solvents FSol100,FSol150,FSol200 and Washoil,is the culmination of a nine-month acquisition by Fortrec.

Fortrec's Ulsan facility will aim to source all its feedstock locally and is targeting to reach full capacity within the coming months,and then to further expand as customer demand grows. The company is exploring opportunities to produce other high value-added petrochemical products as well as their standard stock.

Fortrec has been at the forefront the heavy aromatics trading since its inception. Ten years ago,Fortrec made its first investment into the production side of the business by taking a stake in a major Chinese solvent producer. In the past few years,Fortrec has been looking to expand on its asset strategy by strategically acquiring stakes in other production facilities to complement its trading strategy. The acquisition in Ulsan is key step in Fortrec's plans for its further expansion into the production side of the business.

Mr Lee Byung Chul,CEO of Fortrec Chemical Co Ltd (Korea) enthuses: "We are very pleased to be partnering with such a reputable and long-standing company as Fortrec. We have known them for many years in Korea and are very pleased to have started operations together here in Ulsan. We see a huge opportunity by producing using locally sourced feedstock and being able to leverage on Fortrec's wide reach to tap the export markets for our products. We see great prospects and synergies working together and are excited about our future growth together."

Mr Ajay Bhattacharya,Managing Director of the Fortrec Group,is ebullient about the recent acquisition: "Fortrec will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in September and we are really pleased to announce our first facility to produce high grade products for our partners and clients. We continually look at and develop new bio-aromatic products-- and are exploring other investment opportunities in China,India,Bangladesh,Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Fortrec embraces change and has a five year horizon,so that we can constantly improve our strategy and deliverables so they are relevant to our customers and in step with the environmental changes in our industry."

About Fortrec Chemicals & Petroleum Pte Ltd

Fortrec is a Singapore headquartered,independent and privately-held commodity trading company founded in 1999. Fortrec provides innovative and value added solutions,including financial structuring,raw material sourcing and plant operations.Fortrec Capital also is the investment and asset management arm of Fortrec Group,incorporated to acquire and manage equity positions in strategic assets. Fortrec was an award winner at Singapore's prestigious Enterprise 50 Awards in 2017.

Refinery address: Fortrec Chemical Co Ltd,22,Hoehak3-gil,Onsan-eup,Ulju-gun,Ulsnan,Korea.

For more information,contact Garich Lim,garich.lim@fortrec.com,telephone +65 6734 2829