Samsung Petrochemical is to ramp up its production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) at sites in the South Chungcheong province of China.

The firm will upgrade its production line at its Seosan factory, adding a new line capable of producing 300,000 tons of PTA a year.

As a result Samsung will become the third-largest producer in the world of PTA, adding to other major output facilities such as the 1.1 million tonne per year Ulsan site.

Samsung says that the new changes will mean annual production per employee rising from 5,700 tonnes a year to 10,000 tonnes a year.

President Her Tae-hak told Joongang Daily: "By using advanced technology, we were able to transform a factory that was on the verge of closing down.

"We anticipate sales next year will surpass 1.5 trillion won ($1.4 billion)."

"With our Seosan plant as our foothold, we will aggressively enter the Chinese market beginning next year," he added.

PTA, which is usually produced using a palladium catalyst, is the favoured raw material in the making of the polythylene terephthalate polymer.