President Shin Woo-sung of Korea BASF Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF Co. of Germany, a global chemical concern, said Korea is such a small country that a substantial portion of products made in the country have to be exported and despite such a vital handicap, Korea’s technologies are in many cases on par with those of advanced countries, and thus Korea can lead the world chemical industry by developing excellent technologies and engineers.

In an interview with local media, CEO Shin said Korea BASF invests 3 percent of its annual sales in R&D activities every year, despite the difficulty the world chemical industry is now faced with, to ensure its future growth. 

The German subsidiary supplies materials for construction and automobile industries as its mother company in Germany has been doing for years for its many globally well-known clients, he said.

CEO Shin worked his way up since joining the company in 1980 with stints in such units as marketing, chemicals, and personnel, with two years at the mother company in Germany from 2004. He took over as CEO of Korea BASF last October after more than 30 years with the company.

During the interview, Shin also went over the performance records of both Korea BASF and the mother company in Germany for 2011. He said the shadow hanging over the company’s operation that developed last year has not disappeared, especially in China, cutting the operating profit by 11 percent in its Asia-Pacific operations.

He said what the company needs in this difficult time is new products that can appeal to its customers, especially in the area of environmentally friendly products.

He recalled that just recently the National Assembly passed the transactions of carbon emissions rights and the chemical industry will make efforts to minimize its carbon emissions. Korea BASF will focus on clean power generation from now including wind power and other clean energy and will also work closely with both Hyundai and Kia carmakers to develop electric cars. The company will also turn its attention to such businesses as semiconductor chip making, display, and other high value-added businesses. He will soon meet with key people in the semiconductor chip industry, Shin said.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. With about 111,000 employees, six Verbund sites, and close to 370 production sites worldwide, the company serves customers and partners in almost all countries of the world.

In 2011, BASF posted sales of ?73.5 billion and income before special items of approximately ?8.4 billion.

The company combines economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation BASF enables its customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society.

Its products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition, and helping to improve the quality of life.

The company has summed up this contribution in its corporate purpose:

“We create chemistry for a sustainable future.”

As part of developing its strategy, the company has defined goals that it aims to meet by 2020. From the baseline of 2010, BASF estimates that worldwide chemical production will grow on average by 4 percent per year. It continues to aim to grow two percentage points faster than global chemical production and thus increase sales by an average of 6 percent per year until 2020. The company set the ambitious goal of earning a premium on its cost of capital of at least ?2.5 billion on average each year.

Based on the conditions listed above, the company aims to increase sales to approximately ?85 billion by 2015 and to approximately ?115 billion by 2020. BASF also wants to increase profitability, aiming for an EBITDA of about ?15 billion in 2015 and around ?23 billion in 2020. Its updated strategy also includes, for the first time, a goal for earnings per share: The target is to achieve earnings of approximately ?7.50 per share by 2015.