ICIS - Search Articles by Date : January 27 2003 - February 02 2003

Styrene contract settles up pushed by cost spike
Quarter one styrene contracts have settled at E750-775/ tonne FD, an increase of E83/ tonne on the quarter four range more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

News in brief
Ashland ups prices Ashland Specialty Chemicals intends to raise the price of its polyester resins, vinyl ester resins, low-profile additives.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

YoungAn leads in KP Chem bid
South Korean hatmaker and bus manufacturer YoungAn has emerged as the leading bidder for financial troubled KP Chemical ahead of Reliance Industries.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Tata worth US$397m if Hind Lever merger follows
Tata Chemicals Ltd's (TCL) proposed merger with Hind Lever Chemicals Ltd (HLCL) could give the new company the financial muscle to participate in the.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Hyundai saga clears first hurdle
Signing of agreement by LG and Honam a first step, but many issues still to be resolved more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Ibra to woo buyers for chems
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) plans to approach potential investors to purchase its assets in petrochemical companies starting this.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

M-Edrive for petchem group
The drive to form a Middle East Petrochemical Association accelerated last month when the chief executive of the Emirates National Oil Corp, Hussain.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Moftec considers lifting PA duties
China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (Moftec) is considering lifting antidumping duties on imports of phthalic anhydride (PA).... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Phil tariffs and smuggling: two views
The Philippines' petrochemical industry appears divided on whether the government's decision to reduce import duties on plastic resins to 10% from.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

South Korea: Some useful contacts
Some useful contacts in government and banking Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (Mocie) 1 Chungang-dong, Kwacho-si, Kyongki.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

South Korea: Coming to terms with the Koreans
John Richardson gives his take on the contradictions he notices in a country he's grown to admire more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

South Korea: Unfinished business...
Will South Korea's incoming government complete the reform started by the Kim Dae-jung leadership? more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Global roundup
From stories supplied by the CNI and ACN teams more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Unusual gains in PA due to Chinese duties
Prices of phthalic anhydride (PA) in Asia have shot up over the past month, due to antidumping duties imposed by the Chinese government in early.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Tightness keeps butadiene high
Butadiene contract and spot prices in Asia were high last week, in a tight market more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

PX expected to stay firm on tight supply
Paraxylene (PX) prices are expected to remain very firm over the next few months due to tight supply and high feedstock costs more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Market trends: PX supply tightens
Shutdowns and tight supply cause PX prices to rise, with one deal closing at $830. Styrene prices also rise on Nippon Steel Chemical's plant glitches more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Market trends: Naphtha hits new high
The MoPJ records a new two-year high on the back of tight supply and high crude prices as war tensions mount in the Middle East more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

New projects summary
As reported in ACN 27 January - 2 February 2003 more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

IOC decision in Feb
A decision by Indian Oil Corp's (IOC) board of directors on whether or not to approve a bottle-grade PET project has been delayed from end-2002 to.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

CGPC seeks options for Zhongshan PVC
China General Plastics Corp (CGPC) is seeking alternative sites for its first-phase 170 000 tonne/year PVC project in China more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

...and India's FPL
Futura Polyesters Ltd (FPL) plans to further debottleneck its bottle-grade PET plant in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, to 100 000 tonne/year after the.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

SK Chems plans PET in China or South America
SK Chemicals is planning to build a bottle-grade PET plant in either China or South America, a company official told ACN last week. The.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

PET debottlenecking plans by TSIC...
Thai Shinkong Industrial Co (TSIC) is considering further debottlenecking its 320 000 tonne/ year bottle-grade PET plant in Mab Ta Phut, Thailand more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Nan Ya to build China PET in Mar or Apr
Nan Ya Plastics is expected to start building a 100 000 tonne/year polyester plant in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China, in March or April this year, a company.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Shaoxing Zhanwang's PTA awaits final nod
The Shaoxing Zhanwang Enterprise Group expects to receive final approval from China's State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) after the Chinese.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Zhuhai plans 1m tonne/year PX
Sources claimed that BP Chemicals is in preliminary talks with Zhuhai authorities more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Project watch: Good growth, poor m argins
The robust global demand growth forecast for PET resins for the next few years is being weighed down by overcapacity and thin margins. Unfazed, some.... more
(31 January 2003 12:39)

Record high for MEG spot?
Could monoethylene glycol (MEG) spot prices in Asia surge to a record high of US$1000/tonne cfr Asia in the coming months, a level last seen in.... more
(31 January 2003 14:45)

Product profile: Ammonia
Major fertiliser plant closures have not helped the market, which continues to be hampered by excess capacity and weak demand. Further consolidation.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Strike may be stepped up, says union
The organisers of a recent Europe-wide docker strike are threatening to extend their action to chemicals handling facilities which have so far not.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Feedstock hike hits margins
Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) producers hope to pass on mounting feedstock costs to consumers in quarter one more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

News in brief
Biocides failure The European Commission has reprimanded Luxembourg for its failure to implement the European Union's biocides directive..... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

People on the move
Cambrex Claes Glassell has resigned as president and chief operating officer of the US diversified life science company. James Mack, chairman.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

25 years ago
31 January 1983 more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Plastics monitor: Producers' resolve drives price hikes
Plastics producers pushed for price increases across the board in January on the back of reasonable demand levels, and further price hikes are likely.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

News in brief
Antibody contract MorphoSys of Martinsried, Germany, has signed a five-year agreement with Lonza Biologics for production and supply.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

News in brief
Lyondell hike Lyondell has increased its capital expenditure for 2003. It has budgeted $241m, up from an estimated $198m last year. Spending.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Degussa bolsters output of speciality monomers
In a bid to expand its global position and strengthen its business in the US, German chemical company, Degussa is boosting capacity for speciality.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Market trends: Paraxylene climbs in volatile market
Paraxylene rates jumped to $845/tonne during a volatile week, but fell back to $780-810/tonne. Benzene dropped to $555-565/tonne and product is.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

NPS opens one-stop research centre
A technology centre providing a one-stop GMP environment to pharmaceutical companies is to be opened in February by Niro Pharma Systems (NPS) in.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

West plans to ride on wave of innovation
A wave of technical fibre innovations is assisting western fibre manufacturers to carve out a strategy for survival in the face of extreme competition more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Gas project in the pipeline
Lithuania's Achema expects to complete its feasibility study on the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia's Gazprom in Belarus by the third.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Air Products traps VOCs
A cryogenic condensation system capable of recovering or removing difficult volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from low process gas flows has been.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

London centre to open in 2004
The London Centre for Nanotechnology, a joint enterprise between University College London and Imperial College, is to be opened next year more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Too many cooks
The formation of the CIGT early last year aimed to achieve that which many initiatives have failed to do - improve the image of the chemical.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Foster Wheeler wins API plant contract
Takeda Chemical Industries has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract to Foster Wheeler, in association with Ishikawajima-.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Houghton to go with Cendian
Eastman Chemical's logistics subsidiary Cendian has been signed up to provide logistics services in North America for Houghton International,.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Web-based forecasts
Sasol North America and Westlake Petrochemical have both recently signed with US-based Planalytics to use its GasBuyer package, a web-delivered risk.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)

Industry seeks to improve profitability as prices lag
The titanium dioxide (TiO2) industry is showing great determination in its battle to restore profitability after a year of generally good and in some.... more
(31 January 2003 12:12)