GERMAN chemical group BASF SE said yesterday that sales in China rose 22.2 percent last year boosted by strong demand.

The company had China sales of 4.4 billion euros (US$6.9 billion) last year, versus 3.6 billion euros a year earlier, said Zheng Daqing, senior vice president and a member of BASF's China country board.

China accounts for about half of the company's sales in Asia Pacific, which has a growth rate of 13 percent last year, Zheng said at a media briefing ahead of Chinaplas 2008, a key plastics and rubber industry trade fair where BASF will showcase its latest innovations and solutions for automotive, packaging, among others. The event starts today in Shanghai.

Angang Steel CoCosts force price rises

Angang Steel Co, China's second-biggest steel maker by market value, raised prices by more than 10 percent in the second quarter to cover rising materials costs.

"We believe the price increases can cover increased costs in the second quarter," company secretary Fu Jihui told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday.

Angang Steel this week posted lower-than-expected 2007 profit because of higher costs, prompting analysts to downgrade the stock. Chinese steel makers face a record increase in the costs of iron ore this year amid concern the government's measures to tighten lending will slow domestic demand.

The cash prices of coking coal, another material used to make steel, will continue to rise this year, Fu said.