Brunei’s pioneering specialty chemicals manufacturer, Polygel Organometallic, is expanding its operations with a new plant in Lumut, aiming to backward integrate into the value chain through the production of chemical intermediates.
Since establishing a base at the Salambigar Industrial Park in 2018, Polygel has produced catalysts and additives for export to global industrial leaders, including SABIC, Borealis, Reliance, Indorama, and Nova Chemicals. Its distribution network reaches 250 customers across 50 countries.
Polygel’s catalysts and additives support a range of manufacturing applications, enhancing final consumer products. Catalysts accelerate chemical reactions, boosting efficiency and quality, while additives increase durability and performance.
Among Polygel’s branded offerings, the catalyst PUREti speeds up drying and improves adhesion in coatings and paints, while the additive PUREstab strengthens plastics, making them more resistant to heat and light.
From catalysts and additives to intermediates
Polygel Global Founder and CEO Luv Shah said the new plant, located in the Sungai Liang Industrial Park (SPARK) and targeted for completion in 2027, will introduce intermediates, with acetic acid and aniline as the key products.
Both are significant commodity chemicals with substantial industrial demand for applications in plastics, synthetic fibres, rubber, and pharmaceuticals.
This milestone will mark Polygel’s foray into intermediates—having begun in India in 1997 producing cable gels, before moving into adhesives and construction chemicals, and now specialising in catalysts and additives.
While Polygel’s Salambigar operation currently imports materials to manufacture catalysts and additives, the SPARK plant will produce intermediates from feedstock sourced from Brunei’s largest downstream oil and gas projects: Brunei Methanol Company (BMC), Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI), and Hengyi Industries.
“When we decided to relocate our production to Brunei from India, we wanted to take advantage of its strategic location in ASEAN and its free trade agreements with major target markets.
“Brunei is positioned between China—a big supplier of raw materials—and India, which is a major driver of demand for us,” said Luv Shah, who maintains a sales and distribution arm in India, with headquarters in Singapore.
“Now we are entering a new phase with intermediates. This project showcases the opportunities Brunei’s downstream industry has to offer, adding value to the raw materials that we already have here.”
Taking up a 30-acre site, the new plant will be more than ten times the size of their existing operation and will require more seven times their Salambigar head count of almost 30—with 80% of positions targeted to be filled by Bruneians.
Another chapter in Brunei’s downstream journey
Brunei’s downstream sector continues to expand, with 37% growth recorded in the first half of 2024. In 2017, non-oil and gas exports accounted for just 3% of total exports—by last year, this figure had risen to 61%.
The downstream sector is one of Brunei’s five priority areas for diversification, outlined in its Economic Blueprint, a guiding strategy towards achieving its national vision, Wawasan 2035, for a dynamic and sustainable economy.
Brunei’s roadmap for downstream development envisions the country as a regional chemicals hub, supplying key materials for further industrial activities and processing.
The Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) supports diversification efforts through three core functions: promotion and facilitation of investments, industrial site management, and local enterprise development.
With the synergy of these functions, along with government support, Shah sees a strong proposition in Brunei—having first connected with BEDB during an investment promotion roadshow in 2014.
“We have not only survived COVID but also grown in the past six years, which itself is a testament to what Brunei has to offer,” said Shah.
“The government is actively working to attract FDI, with initiatives to improve infrastructure, port facilities, land provision, and connectivity. Brunei offers stability, good governance, and a strong rule of law.”
Now a prominent member of the Indian diaspora in Brunei, Shah played a key role in promoting Brunei as an FDI destination at BEDB’s Brunei-India Business Exchange Mission to Chennai in November, coinciding with Royal Brunei’s inaugural flight to the city.
Following the milestone meeting between Brunei and India’s heads of state in September—the first visit by a sitting Indian Prime Minister to Brunei—and the newly re-established direct connectivity between the two nations, Shah is optimistic about the potential for economic and trade expansion.
“I am 100% confident that there is no stopping Brunei from adding value to its raw materials and accessing markets with which it has free trade agreements,” said Shah.
“Brunei can certainly be a gateway to the U.S. market, the Indian and Chinese markets, the ASEAN market, and of course, Borneo island. The addressable market is large enough. We can strategise to complement industries in China and India, and fill in whatever gaps they have.”
