Chem-wire Express Japan

30 September 2003 03:46  [Source: CWEJ]

Chem-wire Express Japan: Edition of 29 September

Basic and Fine Chemicals

The Shanghai Municipal Government has revealed a plan to upgrade the Shanghai chemical industrial site to a world-scale petroleum and petrochemical site. The plan aims to develop there by 2010 Asia’s largest petroleum and petrochemical hub with crude processing capacity of 30m tonne/year and ethylene capacity of 4m tonne/year. (Page 1)

Asahi Kasei has been commissioned by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation) the task of researching the technology for efficient conversion of waste fats and oils into diesel fuel oil. The company will develop a test plant, together with Asahi Engineering, Asahi Research Center, Toyota Tsusho and Kyoto University, and evaluate it and carry out a market survey. (p. 1)

Ube Industries said at the end of last week it will absorb next January its subsidiary, Ube Electronics, because it is close to developing new electronic material. It intends to concentrate the management resources of the group companies on the advanced performance material business. (p. 1)

Arakawa Chemical Industries said on 26 September that it will take over Nippon Pelnox Corp (Tokyo), a subsidiary of Nippon Sheet Glass, engaged in the manufacture of epoxy and silicone resins used for making electronic components. The purchase price is about Yen2bn ($18m). (p. 1)

Sumitomo Chemical will start the construction of an 80 000 tonne/year MMA monomer plant in Singapore in November, and also plans to boost its MMA polymer capacity there to 100 000 tonne/year by debottlenecking the existing facility and building a new facility. It will increase by the middle of next year the polymer capacity to 50 000 tonne/year. (p. 2)

Chairman Masatoshi Takeda of the Vinyl Environmental Council (VEC) called a regular press meeting last week end. Remarking on the ongoing worsening business, he told the press that the problem involved would not be solved in its true sense unless the price markups each maker is proposing are accepted and the inefficient business practices such as after-shipment price settlement, etc., are corrected. (p. 2)

The Vinyl Environmental Council (VEC) made a request at the end of last week in a written form to the electronic and electric industry that is proceeding with a plan to include PVC in the list of chemicals, whose information on the possible effects on the environment should be opened. The council doubted the idea of including PVC in that chemical list. (p. 2)

At an interview with this paper Albemarle Corp's CEO, Mark C Rohr, said that the company plans to increase its sales by 50% to $1.5bn by 2006 to 2007. (p. 2)

LG Chem is planning an advance into the polyamide resin business under an engineering plastic expansion plan. LG intends to attain yearly sales of Won200bn by 2005. (p. 3)

The 2003 China Plastic Expo (the Yuyao International Plastic Goods Purchasing Exhibition) will be held in Yuyao, Zejiang, China for four days from 6 November. (p. 3)

Teikoku Ink Mfg has successively developed a new ink with specular gloss and a new pearl-like printing ink. The former has the glossiness equivalent to that of etching-treated deposition film, and the latter features brighter hue and higher brightness than other pearl pigments so far available. (p. 3)

Ferro Enamel (Japan), which supplies enamel frit and inorganic chemicals, will cancel as of October-end the capital and technological relationships with Ferro Corp (US) - a relationship that it has maintained since its foundation. Ferro Enamel will change its name from October to Tokan Material Technology. (p. 4)

Seiwa and Cosmo Oil will coordinate trial sales of the high-performance fertiliser Penta Keep jointly developed by them in Europe, centering on the Netherlands. (p. 4) 

A research group led by Kimihisa Yamamoto, professor at Keio University, has synthesised a new dendrimer with its skeleton incorporating metal. The team has confirmed that the new substance is suitable for hole transport. (p. 11) 

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has completed a next-generation mobile display material cooperative research center on the site of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. The institute will tackle development of the elementary technologies for plastic substrates, etc. over a 5-year period up to 2007 at the center. (p. 11)

Degussa Japan and Shionogi have finished procedures for establishing their joint venture for precipitated silica gel delustering agent. The new venture named DSL Japan will start operations 1 October. (p. 13)

The Council for PET Bottle Recycling has compiled a PET bottle recycling annual report for 2003. The report says the PET bottle recovery rate in the year ending March 2003, came to 53.4% of the total consumption, up 9.4 points over the preceding year, holding the majority for the first time. (p. 14)

Life Sciences and Health Care

Teijin is planning its first overseas operation for medical devices. The company has decided to set up within the year a joint venture in South Korea to sell home oxygen therapy (HOT) devices imported from Japan. (p. 12)

Kyowa Hakko will dare to score for the year ending March 2004, a special loss of Yen28.5bn mainly due to a write-off of retirement pay obligations in a lump sum. This is intended to easily separate its chemical division as a new entity next April. (p. 12) 

Azwell has agreed with Wyeth Lederie (Japan) and Takeda Chemical to take over from them the rights for selling three therapeutic products, including a synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone preparation, manufactured by Wyeth Lederie and marketed by Takeda, and also for manufacturing them. (p. 12)

A report says that Takeda Chemical’s anti-diabetic drug voglibose (Basen) caused adverse reactions, between September 1999 and January 2003, including fulminant hepatitis in seven patients, of whom four (one male and three females) were dead. Some other drugs used in combination with voglibose include the drug causing liver trouble as side effects, and voglibose has not necessarily proved to be the cause of the side effects. (p. 12)

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