Business Roundup

Fujifilm will build its third semiconductor materials facility in Taiwan, this one in the southern city of Tainan. The company already operates two plants in Hsinchu in the island’s north. The plants produce photoresists, developing solutions, chemical mechanical planarization slurries, and image sensor materials.

ICL, the Israeli mineral-based chemical maker, has completed a $250 million investment in Yunnan Yuntianhua, a Chinese phosphate chemicals company. The investment gives ICL a 15% stake in Yunnan and two seats on Yunnan’s board, ICL says.

Asahi Kasei Construction Materials has been ordered to suspend business for 15 days as punishment for conducting substandard piling work at construction sites in Japan. The firm’s parent, the chemical producer Asahi Kasei, admitted in October that the subsidiary was responsible for a tilting apartment block in Yokohama.

Altivia has added facilities at its La Porte, Texas, site to produce chloroacetyl chloride, a phosgene derivative used to make pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals. Altivia is the former PPG Industries phosgene derivatives business.

University College London has launched a $70 million fund that will support academics at the university whose research has commercial potential. UCL says its technology transfer company has already launched more than 60 spin-off companies.

Evonik Industries has invested an undisclosed sum in GRC SinoGreen Fund III, a fund that invests in Chinese and Taiwanese start-ups focused on energy and resource efficiency, clean transportation, sustainability, and climate change mitigation. GRC has offices in Beijing and Taipei.

Wacker Chemie has expanded the capacity of a silicone fluids plant in Burghausen, Germany, by about 70% at a cost of $28 million. Demand for the fluids is growing in applications including coatings, paper, textile, and personal care products, the firm says.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Arena Pharmaceuticals are joining to develop small-molecule psychiatric drug candidates that target an undisclosed G protein-coupled receptor. Arena is eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $262 million.