Conquering Asia and the Middle East

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From October 6 to December 28, 2008, Air Liquide will be the partner of two television programs on France 24: A week in Asia and A week in the Middle East, two regions in the world where Air Liquide is present and has strong growth.

Air Liquide has announced its determination to accelerate its growth. The ALMA strategic project, launched in 2008, responds to this ambition. The main track is clear: competitiveness and growth. The emerging economies, because of their strong industrial demand, are a growth drivers for the Group. Air Liquide is heavily investing in Asia, the Middle East, South America, Russia and Central Europe and is relying on the recruitment of technical and commercial talent to support its growth in these regions of the world.

In the Asia-Pacific zone, Air Liquide operates on all the region’s strategic markets. With revenue of 1.9 billion euros, the zone accounted for 19% of the Group’s global revenue in 2007. Air Liuqide has 7,100 employees in this zone – 18% of the Group’s personnel. Most of the Asian countries are very promising markets for Air Liquide. The Group is increasing its investments in Asia, particularly in China and India, two markets with very strong growth, whose annual rates have reached +30 to +40%. In China, Air Liquide should double its investments over the next five years.

In the Middle East, Air Liquide is present in Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where the Group has set up its Middle Eastern head office. With its 350 employees, Air Liquide invested about US$300 million in 2005-2007 and will invest an additional billion US dollars over the next five years. The Group is meeting the strongly growing needs of its customers, especially in the main industrial basins. These investments are supported by a trend toward outsourcing industrial gas requirements and are in line with the Group’s growth strategy.

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