APIC '07: Conference attendance hits new record

18 May 2007 03:55  [Source: ICIS news]

TAIPEI (ICIS news)--The region’s premier chemical industry gathering, the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC), saw a record number of registered delegates with 1,100 participants this year, a Taiwan industry official said on Friday.

"As a matter of fact, APIC has been setting new attendance records every year since the gathering in Kuala Lumpur exceeded 800," said Sidney Chow, chairman of the Petrochemical Industry of Taiwan, in his address at the conference.

He was referring to the 2004 gathering, the first APIC held in a southeast Asian country.

In his speech, he highlighted industry concerns that included the widely expected industry downturn after four years of very healthy profits.

"The massive build up of petrochemical production capacity in the Middle East based on low feedstock costs represents a threat to Asia especially on commodity type products such as polyethylene (PE) and ethylene glycols," he said.

Other issues raised were environmental concerns and the high volatility of feedstock crude. The REACH environmental legislation expected to be implemented in the EU next month was also seen as a factor which could hamper Asian exports to that region.

ICIS Copyright © Reed Business Information 2009

Author: Steve Tan
+65 6780 4359

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.