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Asian Chemical Connections

China Economic Policies To Get Tougher

By John Richardson THERE will, of course, be bright spots in petrochemicals markets as a result of factors independent of China’s new economic direction. For example, as an aromatics trader points out, there are huge paraxylene (PX) capacity additions in Asia that will provide a great deal of support to reformer economics. In 2010-2013, he […]

Reviving Youngstown

By John Richardson THE blog turned 50 last week and so spare it some indulgence, as it is in a somewhat reflective mood. Yesterday, it attended a Bruce Springsteen concert in Melbourne, Australia – the great song writer/social commentator in the fine tradition of Woody Guthrie etc. His iconic song, Youngstown – about the “former” […]

US has “23 Years” Of Gas Reserves

By John Richardson Amidst all the continued excitement about abundant supplies of ethane in the US, some sceptics are still warning that all may not as it seems during petrochemicals company investor presentations. “The US does not have 100 years of natural gas supply,” said the author of this post on the Oil Drum blog. […]

China Manufacturing Relocation Accelerates

Source of graph: Standard Chartered   By John Richardson WORKING conditions matter as much as higher salaries for China’s emboldened manufacturing workforce, according to this article in the Financial Times. “As the number of available workers falls, factories struggle not only to find new hires, but also retain existing staff. A young and educated workforce […]

Post-War Fabric Of Europe Under Threat

The excellent article below from Paul Taylor at Reuters, which with his permission we publish in full below, describes how the European crisis is far from over, despite the hopes of financial markets following Mario Draghi’s pledge “to whatever it takes” last year. The crisis is, in fact, getting worse. 18 ‎March ‎2013, ‏‎20:39:26 | Paul […]

Everywhere You Look

By John Richardson EVERYWHERE you look across China’s petrochemical markets the story is the same as in polyethylene (PE): Exceptionally weak demand during a time of the year when demand should be good. Take purified terephthalic acid (PTA) as an example. “Asia’s purified PTA spot prices fell in the week ended 15 March on reflection of […]

China, Patronage And Innovation

By John Richardson CHINA has to improve innovation if it is to avoid the middle-income trap. Some people assume that success is a given because of China’s great achievement of lifting hundreds of millions of people out of absolute poverty over the last two decades. But rapid industrialisation and infrastructure spending, which were the methods of […]

The First Quarter Financial Results Dilemma

By John Richardson EUROPEAN olefins markets have turned decidedly bearish, according to my ICIS colleague, Nel Weddle. “Although the lack of pre-buying in February ahead of a much talked-about increase for March contract prices had been deemed a bearish signal, the one positive was that, up until now, demand levels were fairly stable,” wrote Nel, […]

China Labour Supply Threatens Productivity Growth

Chart compiled by the China Real Time Report blog.    By John Richardson NOBODY should be surprised about what is happening in China’s petrochemicals markets, as the signs have been there for many months that economic rebalancing would have to accelerate. This could be marvellous news in the long term for domestic consumption growth, but […]

Xi Jingping’s Challenges

By John Richardson XI Jinping, who formally became China’s president last week during the National People’s Congress meeting, faces enormous challenges. Life is, for example, pretty grim for hundreds of millions of people in China. Many have lost out on the country’s “economic miracle” because a hugely disproportionate share of the country’s wealth has ended […]

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