Coatings World - August 2015

Asia is the largest of all continents on the earth. Asia has 30 percent of the world’s land mass with over 60 per- cent of the world’s population. Its population almost quadrupled during the 20th century. Depending upon how one defines it, Asia is comprised of 51 countries with a population of nearly 4. 4 billion people.

Asia has the two most populous countries in the world – China and India. China is the largest country with an estimated population of 1.4 billion in 2014. It accounts for almost one-third of Asia’s total population. India runs a close second to China with an estimated population of 1.3 billion in 2014 and represents nearly 30 percent of the continent’s population. It is estimated that India’s population will surpass China’s before 2030.

In 2013, the total sales of coatings in Asia Pacific were $56,241 million, on approximately 18,543 million liters. Part of Asia Pacific’s coatings industry is comprised of large, fast-growing countries. Two of the largest and fastest-growing coatings markets in Asia Pacific are China and India. In fact, China and India together represent roughly 75% of Asia Pacific’s total coatings volume in 2013. In addition to these large countries, Asia Pacific is also comprised of many smaller, fast-growing countries in terms of coatings consumption such as those in Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc. Asia Pacific also consists of mature, slow-growing countries such as Japan and Australia which have struggled over the years to hold onto their respective market shares of the region. Japan is the second largest Asian market in value for coatings and the third largest market in volume. In stark contrast to China and India, Japan actually experienced negative coatings volume growth over the past five years. Australia also experienced negative coatings growth over the same timeframe.

For this report, the Asia Pacific region has been segmented in the following manner: Australia,China India Japan, South Korea, Central Asia, Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, etc.) and Other Asia Pacific Countries

Volume and Value

It is estimated that the market value of coatings in the Asia Pacific region was $56,241 million in 2013 on a volume of 18,543 million liters. This represents a 9. 8 percent annual increase in volume and a 10% annual increase in value since 2008.

Growth over the next five years is forecast to be less robust than the previous five years. Volume growth is projected to be about six percent for the next five years as compared to 9. 8 percent for the previous five years. Value growth of the Asia Pacific region is projected to be 7. 4 percent between 2013 and 2018 as compared to ten percent for the previous five years. Despite