Royal DSM N.V. has decided to build a DSM China Campus in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai.

"This underlines the importance that DSM attaches to sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship. The new facility will also allow us to integrate much better with the fast growing innovation talent pools of China. We are proud to locate our China Campus at Zhangjiang, which has become the leading innovation hub in China for bio-technology, nutritional products and advanced materials. These are DSM's key future strategic growth areas," commented Stefan Sommer, President of DSM (China) Ltd.

In its design and execution, the DSM China Campus will aim to achieve "Gold" certification within the LEED program. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

The China Campus will comprise both all Shanghai offices of the DSM (China) Ltd. Holding and several business groups and the R&D labs of DSM in China. The DSM China Campus will initially house about 400 people with the possibility to further expand the facilities in the future. The Campus will be built in the course of the next 18 months and will be ready by the middle of 2008.

"Increased presence in emerging economies is a key platform of Vision 2010," said Jan Zuidam, Deputy Chairman of DSM's Managing Board of Directors. "For China our target is to double our sales to more than USD 1 billion by 2010. The decision for a completely new DSM China Campus shows DSM's ongoing commitment to China and our firm belief that China will contribute significantly to our Vision 2010 ambitions, including innovation."

Presently, the DSM R&D facility in China is located at the Gonglu site in the northeast of Shanghai and the offices are distributed over three offices in two different downtown buildings. Concentrating these facilities and offices at one location will have economic and social benefits for the company and its employees.