Dow Will Delay Biopolymers Plant

At an investor forum last week, Dow Chemical officials said the company will delay a planned biopolymers plant in Brazil. Since 2007, the company has been planning a polyethylene plant based on ethylene from dehydrated sugarcane ethanol. Last year, Dow and Mitsui & Co. formed a joint venture to build the complex. Now, citing slow global economic growth, officials say they are delaying projects that aren’t expected to generate profits within the decade. The company, however, is still proceeding with a Brazilian ethanol plant. At the forum, executives also said that, within the next 12 to 24 months, Dow will divest businesses that together generate about $1 billion in annual sales.