Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon, and photomask substrates.

[5][6] Shin-Etsu is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where it is a component of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Core 30 indices.

[12] Production at the Shintech Freeport plant began in 1976, and that same year the PVC & Polymer Materials Research Center and the Silicone Electronics Materials Research Center were established.

In 1988, the company set up an Advanced Functional Materials Research Center and established Shin-Etsu (Malaysia) Sdn.

Ltd.[6] In 1997, they launched its photoresists business and began production at the Naoetsu Plant in Niigata Prefecture.