GERMAN specialty chemicals maker Lanxess AG's China sales rose to US$635 million last year, and the company said yesterday that it is banking on growing demand for environmentally compatible products in the market.

Chairman Axel Heitmann said China, its fastest-growing market, accounted for nearly 6 percent of Lanxess global sales in 2007. After adjusting for currency and portfolio effects, China sales rose 23.4 percent last year, the company said in March.

"Asia's emerging markets are poised to sustain their momentum and we expect growth to remain strong, especially in China at roughly 9 percent in 2008," Heitmann told a press conference in Shanghai where the company is participating at Chinaplas 2008, Asia's largest and the world's No 3 plastics and rubber industry trade fair. Heitmann said Lanxess had identified rising demand for green products in China as sales of its green premium products in the nation have risen significantly over the past 12 months.

One example is the newly developed nanotechnology-based special-purpose rubber which reduces rolling resistance in tires.

"If all 30 million Chinese cars were equipped with tires with reduced rolling resistance, like the high-tech tires that are available today, it would be possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in China by roughly 2 million metric tons per year," he said.

The growth of such green business could provide double the rate of overall market growth in China, Heitmann said.

"Therefore we will focus increasingly on green chemistry products in our portfolio."