Dow optimistic about Chinese market despite slowdown

Dow Chemical Company, the United States' largest chemical corporation, on Thursday said it remains upbeat about the Chinese market even though the country's slowdown hurt its growth in the region last year.

Peter Sykes, president of Dow Greater China, said at a press conference that the company's revenue in the region stood basically unchanged last year from the previous year.

"After a very strong growth year of 2011, we did not grow in 2012," Sykes said. The company's revenue stood at around 4.4 billion U.S. dollars last year.

This came as China's economy has slowed to a 13-year low. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's gross domestic product grew 7.8 percent last year, the slowest pace since 1999.

To some extent, it is typical that growth in emerging markets does not just move in a smooth and steady line each year, Sykes said.

"I'm still very optimistic for the future, but we have to be flexible in our thinking and adapt our strategy as the market, itself, adapts," he said.

The company will maintain close collaboration with customers, drive innovation and push more actively into new markets in China, such as the country's western and northern regions, according to Sykes.

Dow has set its sights high for the 2011-2015 period, aiming to double its 2010 sales revenue in Greater China to somewhere between 7 billion U.S. dollars and 8 billion U.S. dollars.