ICIS - Search Articles by Date : March 19 2007 - March 25 2007

Akzo sells OBS to US group
Akzo Nobel is to sell its Organon BioSciences (OBS) business to US pharmaceutical group Schering-Plough for €11bn ($14.5bn), and has dropped plans.... more
(21 March 2007 14:05)

NEW PROJECTS REPORTED BY ICIS 19-25 MARCH 2007
Company Product Capacity Process Contractor Cost Startup Status Arkema .... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Eyes on the prize
Asahi Kasei is expanding overseas and concentrating on niche markets such as specialty products more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

How to sustain a green regime
Is the environment too important to be left to environmentalists? asks Seb Beloe more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

A growing concern
It may not be as glamorous as the likes of climate change, but chemicals management is becoming a hot topic more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Bombshell makes biofuels sector think again
Australia has grand biofuels ambitions. A series of government incentives was introduced in 2003 to make sure the market took-off in the.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

THINK TANK - Consolidation may look appealing, but there could major drawbacks later
A new wave of consolidation among chemical distributors may be triggered by the proposed acquistion of US firm Chemcentral, continuing a.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Cefic helps firms with Reach
Cefic subsidiary ReachCentrum, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, have developed an initiative to help prepare companies for Reach. The.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

IN BRIEF - Markets Watch
Dow eyes increases Dow Europe will raise prices for its Nordel hydrocarbon and synthetic rubber grades in Europe, Africa, India and the Middle.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

BRICES PRICES - Sellers disgruntled over bi-monthly C2 hike
Europe's first bi-monthly April-May ethylene (C2) contract came hot on the heels of the quarterly settlement. But sellers are not happy. The.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Indonesia is set for sweet success with ethanol drive
Indonesia and Brazil have signed a biofuels agreement that will help Indonesia to diversify into ethanol production the country is predominantly.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

China aims to rein in economy
China's central bank has announced that one-year borrowing and lending benchmark rates will be raised by 0.27% in a bid to slow the economy. On.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

IN BRIEF - Asia Watch
ICPL hunger strike Nine workers at Indian Petrochemicals Corporation (IPCL) started a hunger strike last week in protest against a plan.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

ASIA INSIDER - Government plans to attack pollution levels
Cleaning up the environment in China has climbed to the top of the agenda for Beijing's top brass. At the recent National People's Congress,.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

IN BRIEF - Environment Watch
BASF monitors safety A socio-eco-efficiency balance (SEE-balance) system has been established by BASF to monitor the social implications.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

NPC relocates No 8 ethylene
Iran's National Petrochemical Co (NPC) has moved its No 8 ethylene project from Bandar Imam to Gachsaran, further east on the Persian Gulf's north.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Vietnam mulls draft law
a toxic chemicals draft law to beef up the protection of the environment and human health is being considered in Vietnam. It is part of the.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Ambitious plan to feed motor sector
Mitsubishi Chemical will ramp up its product line to feed into the growing Japanese automotive industry, setting an ambitious goal to triple sales.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

IN BRIEF - Supply Chain
Norwegian company to seek se status Odfjell is to transform from a Norwegian joint-stock public company into a European Societas Europaea (SE).... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

IN BRIEF - Innovations
Degussa opens bio innovation centre Degussa has opened its Bio ­Science-to-Business ­Centre in Marl, North Rhine-­Westphalia.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

EU INSIDER
Stuck between a potentially lucrative market and the concerns of its citizens, the EU has set out a strategy for radio frequency identification.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

WASHINGTON INSIDER - Confusion on the agenda after security move
US chemicals industry leaders have warned that new efforts by the Democrat-controlled Congress to toughen site security will cause confusion ahead.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Sun plumps for Kuehne & Nagel
Sun Chemical Europe has awarded a five-year contract to Kuehne & Nagel to integrate and manage its transport network. The Swiss logistics company.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

EPA: HCFCs set for an early ban
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put forward a proposal to adjust the Montreal Protocol to ­accelerate the phase-out of.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Univar ups its offer price
Univar has made a new agreement with CHEM-CENTRAL and raised its offer price by $50m (€37.5m) to $650m (ICIS Chemical Business 19 March). The.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Qatar boosts LNG capacity
Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil completed work on one of the world's largest liquid natural gas (LNG) plants in the state's capital Doha last week. .... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Gulf countries design unified currency
A plan to unify the currencies of Arab Gulf States by 2010 is a challenge, but could be achieved if countries cooperate, the governor of Bahrain's.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Pakistani DAP prices raised
Domestic list prices for diammonium phosphate (DAP) and monoammonium phosphate (MAP) have been increased in Pakistan. The hikes came amid rising.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Saudi PE unit will open in 2008
Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Co (SEPC), a joint venture (jv) between Basell and Tasnee & Sahara Olefins Co, expects to start up its ethylene.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Chinese and Russian plants on BASF list
BASF is building polyacrylate polymers and leather chemicals plants in China, and an automotive catalysts facility in Russia. The Chinese.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

US consumers take "healthy" car test
US consumers now have the opportunity to assess how healthy their new cars are with the publication a consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars. .... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

LDPE growth in Borealis plans
Borealis is set to invest €370m ($492m) in a 350,000 tonne/year high- pressure, low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Stenungsund, Sweden. .... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Crude buoys UAE economic growth
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) economy expanded by 8.9% in 2006, boosted by high crude oil prices, according to the Ministry of Economy. Nominal.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Couple to sue baby bottle firms
A CALIFORNIAN couple are suing six feeding bottle manufactures for failing to warn them about the health risks associated with bottles that contain.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Weak US TiO2 dents European hopes
Sluggish titanium ­dioxide (TiO2) sales and price erosion in the US are ­dampening the prospects for a strong second quarter in Europe. .... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Buyers' resistance slows down talks
Second-quarter Asian styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) contract talks with tyre producers have stalled because of strong resistance to proposed.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

SM suffers New Year lethargy
A dearth of demand for styrenic plastics such as polystyrene (PS), expandable polystyrene (EPS) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

DHCP carries out PGR pilot trials
Dow Haltermann Custom Processing (DHCP), a venture between Dow Chemical and Johann Haltermann, is conducting trials for the production of propylene.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

GSK launches Singapore laboratory
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has opened a new medicinal chemistry laboratory at its research and development facility in Singapore to boost research into.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

Clouds set to lift for French chemicals
France's chemicalS industry should see production volumes improve this year after a slow 2006, trade group Union des Industries Chimiques (UIC) said.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

German workers split over relocation plans
German employees of engineering plastics producer Ticona at Kelsterbach, and parent company Celanese at Hoechst, both in Germany, are split.... more
(23 March 2007 15:28)

THINK TANK: Lanxess still has to drive hard
Lanxess suffered only marginally last week by not being more specific on its 2007 outlook. The group's shares had fallen 3% by late.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

Bayer keep s pushing Material Science
BAYER TOOK a leap forward last year when it acquired drug group Schering in a €16.5bn ($21.1bn) deal that helped it consolidate its position in a.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

Polyvinyl alcohol
DEMAND 2005: 332m lbs. 2006: 335m lbs. 2007: 360m lbs., projected. Demand equals production plus imports (2005: 47m lbs. 2006: 53m lbs.) less.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

WHO'S MOVING WHERE?
EXECUTIVE BRIEFING Jacqueline Todd has been appointed by BASF as marketing manager for its captive acrylic monomers business in North.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

25 YEARS AGO125 YEARS AGO
THIS WEEK ICIS Chemical Business Americas, formerly CMR, traces its roots back to 1871 when the publication was called Oil, Paint and Drug.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

China's prestige makeover
China's burgeoning middle class creates plenty of opportunity for sophisticated cosmetics more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

Dear Editor
Dear Editor, Can chemicals save the world? We believe they can. As we look to growing interest in climate issues, the American Chemistry Council.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

Caustic soda prices bubbling
THE MARKET for caustic soda is picking up again: Price increases were nominated in the fourth quarter 2006 for the first quarter 2007, and more are.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)

Wood preservatives feel pressure
THE WOOD preservatives market faces an array of challenges - the decline in housing construction, environmental concerns and a shift toward plastic.... more
(23 March 2007 15:22)