GlobalRoundUp - China/US to set new quotas

14 November 2005 00:01  [Source: ACN]

China/US to set new quotas

The US and China have reached a wide-ranging agreement on textiles and clothing trade until the end of 2008, according to reports.

Under the deal, Beijing will sharply restrict its exports to the US in return for guaranteed access to its biggest export market.

The agreement covers 34 different categories of clothing that account for 46% of Chinese textile imports into the US. The quotas will, said a report in the UK’s Financial Times newspaper, be introduced in two months from now to give manufacturers and retailers time to adjust to the changes.

Samsung IN US$45bn plan

Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, will spend US$45bn on research and development (R&D) over the next five years, up from the US$35bn it spent in the last decade it said.

The new R&D investment will focus on the group’s 13 ‘growth engines’ – including high capacity memory chips, next-generation display devices, mobile telecommunications and digital TVs, Samsung said.

BASF files 13 injunctions

German chemical giant BASF has filed injunctions against 13 China-based companies for selling its patented products at the Crop & Science Technology 2005 show in Glasgow, Scotland.

BASF said it had obtained preliminary injunctions against the companies to stop them from selling proprietary crop protection products at the 31 October-2 November event.

The companies, which were unnamed, were selling BASF-patented insecticides chlor-fenapyr and cipronil, and the fungicides epoxiconazole and kresoxim-methyl at the fair, said BASF.

It added that the companies would have to cease their promotional activities on these products due to the court order.

TPI rehab exit by Feb 2006

Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI) could exit its court-protected rehabilitation as early as February 2006 once its debt restructuring is completed, said Siri Jirapongphan, one of the government-appointed administrators of the company’s rehabilitation plan.

‘February is an anticipated date. The restructuring could complete as soon as December,’ he said.

Last week, TPI gave up a 30% stake in subsidiary TPI Polene to its creditors, who include Bangkok Bank, Citibank, Bank of America, the International Finance Corp, German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau and the US Export-Import Bank. This would cut TPI’s debts of US$2.95bn by around US$250m.

Henkel buys China stake

German household products and specialty chemicals group Henkel has bought a majority stake in China’s Huawei Electronics, which makes epoxy moulding compounds for semiconductors, Henkel said.

It declined to disclose financial terms of the deal or quantify the stake in Yiangsu province-based Huawei.

A spokesman for Henkel said, however, that it was the company’s first equity investment in Chinese electronic chemicals production.

‘This joint venture provides us with an excellent platform for expanding our electronics-related business in China, a region with enormous potential for the future,’ Jochen Krautter, executive vice president of Henkel Technologies, said.

SPC scotches speculation

Shanghai Petrochemical Co (SPC), a subsidiary of Chinese major Sinopec, has denied speculation that it could be privatised.

It said that Sinopec, which has a 55.56% stake in SPC, had given a verbal confirmation that it had no plans to privatise its subsidiary. It also said that it had undergone no negotiations or agreements relating to any intended acquisition.

The announcement came after SPC’s share price rose amid unusual trading volumes on 3 November. During that day, more than 72m shares were traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Shares closed at HK$2.625 (US$0.34) each, up HK$1.5 from 2 November.

Degussa in China expansion

German specialty chemicals group Degussa is to expand in China and eastern Europe as part of its so-called Degussa 2008 programme, said company chairman Utz-Hellmuth Felcht.

Outlining the company’s expansion plans and internal programmes aimed at streamlining the organisation to improve profitability, Felcht said the Degussa 2008 programme sought to achieve gains of €300m (US$352.8m) in operating profit (Ebit) by 2008.

In China, a new joint venture, called Jida and which would produce polyether ether ketone (PEEK), was expected to be finalised shortly.

Plans to build a 100 000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in China will be presented to the Degussa supervisory board in December, he added.

Korea economy recovering

South Korean consumer confidence climbed for a second month in October, suggesting that the economy was recovering after a recession two years ago, a report said.

The consumer confidence index, which measures consumer expectations of improvement in living and financial conditions in six months’ time, rose to 97.5 in October from 96.7 a month earlier, the Korea Herald newspaper quoted the country’s National Statistical Office as saying.

‘In terms of consumption, I’d say the economy is nearing a full-blown recovery,’ one Seoul-based economist was also quoted as saying.

South Korea’s gross domestic product grew 4.4% during Q3 of 2005. For the full year, the government projects a near 5% growth rate.

Petchem upturn 'to last to H2 2007'

The global petrochemical industry will experience an upturn that will last for more than two years until the second half of 2007, according to Garrie Li, a consultant at CMAI.

Speaking at the Defining the Future conference in Shanghai, China, last week he said that margins for petrochemicals producers would remain attractive for the next 18 months until a flood of new capacities come onstream.

'Demand has been growing faster than capacity additions for the past two years as a result of the tough downturn in the late 90s and early part of this decade'; he said.

'This year, 1-1.5 m tonne of  new ethylene capacity has been added to the 105m tonne market.  Next year, it will be fairly similar; But a tsunami of new capacities will lead to a downturn in the second half of 2007', he added.

 

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