China will eventually become Dow Corning's largest market and the company plans to do more to localize in the nation, it said yesterday.

"China is obviously the top priority for us in terms of geographic development," said Stephanie Burns, chairwoman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dow Corning. "It will become our No 1 market eventually in terms of country sales."

She said Dow Corning is planning to elevate local employees, reduce its dependency on expatriates and will eventually have a local CEO.

"It is one of our goals (to hire a local CEO)," said Burns. "We realized that if we don't force that transition then we won't retain our place (in the market) for too long."

Dow Corning, which makes silicone-based products, is a joint venture between Dow Chemical Co and Corning Inc. It is the world's largest supplier of silicone. The company has nearly 10,000 employees worldwide and over half of its annual sales are made outside the United States.

According to Dow Corning's third-quarter results released last month, its net income has grown four percent to $162.7 million in the past four months. China is among the top five of the company's largest markets.

"As China wants to become less dependent on environmentally unfriendly (products), a lot of our product innovation targeting sustainable energy will be of great help," said Burns.

Unlike other companies, which regard China as a global manufacturing base, Burns said most of Dow Corning's investment in China is for the local market.

In 2002, the company established a China Application Center in Shanghai's Songjiang Industrial Zone. The company also announced in September 2006 it would join forces with Wacker Chemie AG to build China's largest siloxane manufacturing facility in Zhangjiagang, in East China's Jiangsu Province.

The $600 million estimated investment in the project is one of the largest two globally for Dow Corning. The project is due for completion by the end of the decade.

"We sell in China to other companies and sometimes they export the products. But most of our business is for China, which is how we've always grown," said Burns.

She said the need for Dow Corning products is growing as China, its infrastructure and its buying power develop.

"We can estimate the growth almost as a proportion of the gross domestic product," she said.

Dow Corning entered the Chinese market in 1973. The company now has about 1,000 employees in the country and has offices in five cities on the mainland.

It has had double-digit growth in China over the past few years.