DSM sees healthy growth in Chinese market

Despite China's slowing economy, Royal DSM NV, the Netherlands-based nutrition and material sciences company, said it will continue its investment in the country as affluent consumers are willing to pay more for their health.

Human and animal nutrition businesses in China have potential for high growth. With disposable incomes rising, "Chinese are more health-conscious than ever", Feike Sijbesma, the company's chief executive officer, told China Daily on the sidelines of the Summer Davos in Tianjin, the World Economic Forum's annual China event that ended on Tuesday.

Animal feed additives constitute a growing business in China as good-quality meat and eggs are becoming essential parts of people's diet. Feed additives are also a good way to address China's food safety issue, he said.

DSM plans to invest in the fields of production, research and development, and will hire locally, he said.

"Many people are concerned that the Chinese economy isn't growing as fast as before, but I think it's still a mid-and-high growth, and no other country can compete (on the same scale)," he said.

Earlier this month, the Dutch firm opened a factory in Shanghai to make vitamin B6 products. It is its largest manufacturing base. The company will also export the products to other markets.

Vitamin B6 is said to offer a wide range of benefits, including mood control and prevention of mental fatigue.

The company is also expanding its manufacturing plant in Tongxiang, Zhejiang province, which produces gellan gum, a stabilizing and texturizing agent used in a wide variety of foods and beverages.

DSM is sharpening its focus on solar businesses in China. In 2013, it acquired SolarExcel, a Dutch producer of energy-enhancing foils for solar panels.

Sijbesma said the expansion-minded company is open to acquisition opportunities in both nutrition and renewable energy sectors in China, a market where its sales rose 12 percent to $1 billion last year.