Donghua Energy may relocate its headquarters to Maoming, Guangdong!

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“Guangdong has the best business environment in China! I have come to regard this foreign land as my home, and I have encouraged our management team to settle and thrive in Maoming, with the headquarters being moved there as well. ”At the provincial conference on high-quality development held on January 28, Wang Mingxiang, chairman of Donghua Energy (Maoming) Co., Ltd., said that since Donghua Energy began its operations in Maoming, the involvement of China National Nuclear Corporation and the active participation of foreign companies have led to projects with investment amounts in the hundreds of billions, demonstrating a positive scenario in which state-owned enterprises are willing to take risks, private enterprises are eager to innovate, and foreign companies are prepared to invest. Three years ago, Donghua Energy Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Donghua Energy”) moved from the Yangtze River Delta to Guangdong; within less than two months, it signed an investment agreement with Guangdong and promptly began construction. In just 20 months, Phase I of Donghua Energy’s Maoming alkane resource utilization project has fully entered the commissioning stage, marking the transition from equipment installation to testing; production is expected to begin at the end of February this year. In addition, the Maoming headquarters of Donghua Energy is also expected to be completed by the end of this year. As a major city in the traditional petrochemical industry, Maoming has in recent years actively sought new paths for industrial transformation and upgrading, aiming to shift from traditional petrochemicals to green chemicals and the hydrogen energy sector. This year, Maoming has proposed to accelerate the development of its green chemical and hydrogen energy industrial parks, with the goal of creating a green chemical industry cluster worth hundreds of billions within two to three years. In an exclusive interview with reporters from Southern Finance & Economics All-Media, Wang Mingxiang said that his biggest impression from going to Guangdong was that the officials there truly act as \"servants\" to enterprises. “Guangdong Province is very close to businessmen; it has a culture that values commerce deep in its roots, and it is also practical. The relationship between Guangdong enterprises and ** represents the ideal model of political-business relations. ”The Donghua Energy (Maoming) Alkane Resources Comprehensive Utilization Project is the largest private industrial project introduced in Maoming since its establishment, with a total investment of 40 billion yuan. To ensure the project can start construction on schedule, various supporting facilities for the project have been put under construction one after another, reflecting the \"Maoming speed\"; for example, the approval process for the first phase of the project’s supporting storage area was completed within 70 days, and various approvals required, from project initiation to the acquisition of the necessary \"four evaluations and three certificates\", were handled through efficient and high-quality green-channel procedures. Over the past three years, Donghua Energy has invested a total of 9.6 billion yuan in Guangdong. The liquid bulk cargo terminal in the Jeddah Port area of Maoming Port is a facility built as part of the Donghua Energy Maoming project; it is used primarily for the loading and unloading of raw materials. With a length of 630 meters, this terminal can accommodate two LPG ships with a capacity of 50,000 tons each, and its designed annual handling capacity is 4.25 million tons. The accelerated construction of the Donghua Energy project and port terminal infrastructure projects has driven rapid growth in industrial and infrastructure investment in Maoming. In 2022, Maoming Binhai New Area is expected to complete fixed-asset investments worth 9.228 billion yuan for the whole year, with a growth rate of 30.3%. More importantly, this has also changed Guangdong’s industrial structure, which in the past focused on the downstream sector while neglecting the upstream sector. “In the past, the development of manufacturing in Guangdong focused mainly on the downstream sector, with a well-developed retail industry at the end of the supply chain; conversely, it was weak in the upstream sector, showing a gap compared to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong. Moving towards the end of the chain, market fluctuations are relatively large; therefore, it is necessary to develop the foundation of the industrial economy, while also establishing strong complementarity with downstream industries. ”Now, facing a reshuffle of the industry, Wang Mingxiang believes that Guangdong has once again seized a historic opportunity for development in upstream industries. Wang Mingxiang believes that a profound revolution is taking place in the fields of energy and materials worldwide. With the promotion of new energy vehicles, China uses 10 million tons less gasoline and diesel each year, which means a shortage of olefins and aromatics produced as by-products of oil refining. In the future, the main use of oil will be for the production of olefins and aromatics through one-step processes, resulting in cheaper basic chemicals and creating conditions for the development of new materials. At the same time, polymer composites and specialty materials will gradually make their appearance, replacing the era when cement and rebar played the leading role. For example, carbon fiber combined with polypropylene is used as a material to reduce the weight of vehicles, and polypropylene plants will be the factories of the future. How to address the current changes in the fields of energy and materials is related to the core competitiveness of industries. “Maoming has unique advantages to undertake this revolution. Maoming is the intersection of the Greater Bay Area, Hainan Island, and the Beibu Gulf ； It represents the ideal combination of Middle Eastern resources and the ASEAN market, and coupled with its advantages as a latecomer, it is highly suitable for developing emerging, strategic basic industries. ”Wang Mingxiang said. In 2023, Guangdong Province proposed making manufacturing the cornerstone of its economy, which further strengthened Wang Mingxiang’s decision to invest in Maoming: taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the reshaping of the olefin industry, he aimed to establish the world’s largest olefin production base in Maoming by leveraging both oil and gas industries, while also developing new materials and hydrogen energy, and achieving zero-carbon development. Today, Maoming Binhai New Area is driving the transformation and upgrading of Maoming’s petrochemical industry by fostering strong partnerships among large state-owned enterprises, local state-owned firms, and listed private companies. It is also promoting differentiated development between new and existing industrial parks, with the goal of establishing a world-class base for green chemical and hydrogen energy industries. Centered around Donghua Energy, a petrochemical industry community is emerging. Wang Mingxiang used a vivid analogy: “Instead of making dumplings, we focus on producing high-quality flour, by moving progressively further up the value chain and achieving greater precision in our processes.” ”On the upstream side, Donghua Energy has brought in China National Nuclear Corporation to utilize high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology in order to address the power supply issue in the industrial park. High-temperature gas-cooled reactors can supply high-temperature and high-pressure steam at costs similar to those of coal, and this steam can be used to produce hydrogen for the development of the hydrogen energy industry; more importantly, it enables zero carbon emissions. At the same time, the company has also brought together Guangzhou Industrial Control and Maoming Petrochemical to jointly develop an acrylonitrile industry chain project. Wang Mingxiang said that the future development of the manufacturing sector depends on innovative elements, such as how to validate new technologies, how to overcome approval processes as quickly as possible, and more importantly, how to align tax policies with international standards. “So, what concerns me the most at the moment is the issue of zero carbon; the carbon tax will become the biggest obstacle to the development of the manufacturing industry in the future. ”“‘‘Zero carbon’ is still a rather vague concept in China, with too many things that need support. ”Wang Mingxiang believes that a viable approach is to use geographical indications to counter carbon taxes, rather than relying on products or industries. Learning that Donghua Energy is establishing a zero-carbon industrial park in Maoming, world-renowned chemical companies have also joined in investing in projects for producing chemicals through the crude oil one-step process; the conversion rate in such processes will exceed 80%, making this an innovation on a global scale. Wang Mingxiang said that Guangdong Province is currently pushing for manufacturing to play a key role, while Maoming City has set out to develop the Binhai New Area into a hub for green chemistry, new materials, and new energy. “We are greatly inspired and even more confident as a result. We firmly believe that, from Donghua Energy’s initial attempts, to the participation of China National Nuclear Corporation, and then to the active involvement of Saudi foreign companies, all these factors prove that Guangdong has China’s best business environment. ”At present, Maoming is making vigorous efforts to develop three strategic and key industries: green chemicals, new materials, and new energy, while striving to win the \"three tough battles\" in the manufacturing sector. It is pushing forward with the construction of the Maoming Petrochemical Refining Transformation and Upgrading project, as well as the Ethylene Quality Improvement project, which require an investment of 30 billion yuan, with the goal of creating a new era for Maoming Petrochemical ； Ensure the successful trial production and commissioning of Phase I (I) of the Donghua Energy Alkane Resources Comprehensive Utilization Project ； Develop the industries of new materials and new energy, promote the commencement of projects along the acrylonitrile industry chain, accelerate the construction of Maoming’s green chemical and hydrogen energy industrial parks, and strive to create a green chemical industry cluster worth hundreds of billions within two to three years. “\"Large investment, high quality, and rapid construction\" has become the hallmark of the Donghua Energy (Maoming) project. The construction of this project has set a \"Maoming speed\" for manufacturing transformation in the city, covering all stages from attracting investment and starting construction to the completion of the chemical industrial park. What was once an abandoned shrimp farm area has gradually been replaced by vegetation and modern manufacturing facilities. Starting from a blank slate, Maoming Binhai New Area has seen the emergence of a modern green chemical industry park, full of vitality. At present, the Alkane Resource Utilization Project of Donghua Energy (Maoming) plays a vital role in the economic and social development of Maoming. With the support of various departments under the Maoming Municipal Party Committee and Government as well as the management committee of the new district, and through the efforts of all participating units, this project has seen another round of improvement. On December 26th of this year, the Donghua Energy (Maoming) project entered the commissioning phase, marking its entry into a critical stage of testing ahead of its full completion and operation by March 2023.