Braskem to focus on local projects in 2012 -Brazil

Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem (NYSE: BAK) will next year focus investments on Brazil, according to CEO Carlos Fadigas.

The firm plans spend around US$5bn on new productive capacities in the country, Fadigas told local paper Valor Econômico.

Projects include a naphtha-based polypropylene (PP) plant at Camaçari; a second ethanol-based polyethylene (PE) plant, the company's first green PP unit; and continued work on the Comperj petrochemical complex in Rio de Janeiro.

"Our strategy will not be different than in the current year, but our priority will be Brazil," Fadigas said.

However, the executive added that the company is still eyeing opportunities in the US. The acquisition of PP assets in the US in 2010 and 2011, "has consolidated our leadership in PP, so we can now look at business in the PE area."

In Brazil, Braskem expects to invest a total of around US$4bn in petrochemical plants at Comperj, the report said.

The firm is also still considering the size of the stake it may acquire in thePetroquimicaSuape polyester and PET resin project currently being built in the northeast of the country by federal energy company Petrobras(NYSE PBR).