Dow Chemical Co., the largest U.S. chemical maker, said Tuesday that its sales in China totaled 1.04 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year.

The figure accounted for 42 percent of sales in the Asia-Pacific region which totaled 2.485 billion U.S. dollars and 8.5 percent of the global total in the first three months, said Peter Sykes, President of Dow Greater China, at a news briefing in Beijing.

He did not provide the year-on-year growth rate of the sales in the first quarter. The company’s sales reached 4.02 billion U.S. dollars for the whole year in 2010.

He said Dow has registered an average annual growth rate of 20 percent in sales in China since 2000. However, the company’s sales would likely soon slow to around 15 percent annually, he said.

China is currently the second largest market for Dow, only after the United States. Peter Sykes expected that China would exceed the United States to become the biggest market in 10 to 15 years.

He said the company’s priority for this year was to build more collaborative partnerships, he said without elaboration. The company will also expand its sales network to the north and west in China, he said.

When asked whether Dow has considered listing on the upcoming international board in Shanghai, he said there was no intention at the present stage. - Xinhua