LONDON - IRL has announced the availability of a ninth edition of its title, A Profile of the Asia-Pacific Paint Industry, which provides up-to-date information on the paint industries and markets of 11 major economies in the region.

Based on these 11 major economies, the Asia-Pacific paint market has been rated at almost 13.9 million tonnes in 2009. It is forecast to grow by about 7.9 percent per year in the period to 2014, when the market will top over 20 million tonnes.

China and India are the major growth drivers in the region with paint demand in these two countries likely to continue growing at more than 10 percent per annum in the coming years. At varying rates, many of the other Asian economies are recovering from the effects of the global economic crisis of 2008 to 2009, some of these being particularly impacted by the decline in consumer goods demand in the West. These are economies that are being boosted through governmental stimulus packages, which have been conceived to ensure continued economic growth in the face of otherwise potential collapse.

Three countries in the region have paint demand exceeding one million tonnes. These are China (approximately 7.5 million tonnes), India (1.8 million tonnes) and Japan (1.4 million tonnes). In contrast to the other two, the Japanese paint market is struggling against a backdrop of traditional expectations and a reluctance to accept much greater waterborne paint use. Very, very few segments of the Japanese paint market are growing at the moment, but great hopes are being pinned on a revival of home-repair paints with the introduction of the “200-Year House” concept, which unites the ideas of recycling, maintenance and strategic reviews of how the national housing stock is used as it deals with an increasingly ageing population and a declining birthrate.

Some of the smaller but growing economies are also poised to hand opportunity to the coatings industry in the near and longer term. Indonesia is emerging as a good market for the future. It has enjoyed strong growth in recent years and is winning international investment and confidence from industry. General and wide-ranging expansion of the tourism industry and the establishment of economic development zones will be among the key driving forces for the Indonesian paint market.

Vietnam, which has attracted significant industry investment in recent years, is one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asian region. Like Indonesia, it will become a good prospect for the paint industry, but on two levels. First, there is strong investment in construction and infrastructure. Second, accession of Vietnam to the World Trade Organization in the future is likely to liberate industry, which will translate into further industrial development, particularly in segments such as cars and manufacturing.

Singapore remains a strong market and one of the greatest consumers of paint per capita in the world at 47 kg per head. Strong growth in the architectural, marine and protective-coatings segments is expected to continue in the future.

The Philippines also represents a lively market to look for in the future. This is an industry in which local partners are usually sought, rather than direct participation on the part of the paint companies. The Philippines offers a broad spread of opportunities for the coatings industry, especially in terms of civil construction, architectural, marine and protective applications.

A Profile of the Asia-Pacific Paint Industry contains information on the paint industries and paint markets of the following 11 countries: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The report concludes with an extensive and updated directory of paint makers in each of these 11 countries.

For additional information, visit www.informationresearch.co.uk.