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Asian Chemical Connections

Northeast Asia Confronts PVC Consolidation

By John Richardson ASIAN higher cost polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producers are facing the twin squeeze of increased electricity costs and very competitive exports from the US, according to an industry source the blog met with in Taipei, ahead of tomorrow and Friday’s 2013 Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC). Such is the pressure on the Japanese, […]

In Search Of Smart Customers

By John Richardson JUST about every Asian cracker operator is losing money right now, according to a polyolefin industry source. And the above chart indicates that margins are wafer-thin in Northeast Asia because of the unexpected weakness in the China market, where polyethylene (PE) demand growth is forecast to either be flat or in negative […]

Malaysia’s Economic Challenges

By John Richardson Barisan Nasional (BN) has won Malaysia’s general election although Anwar Ibrahim (see picture on the left), leader of the opposition, has so far refused to concede defeat because he claims that there has been widespread election fraud. Given that the Election Commission is part of the Prime Minister’s office, however, it seems […]

Taiwan Growth Underlines Long Term Shift

By John Richardson EVIDENCE that China is no longer acting as the growth engine of the world, because it is too busy dealing with internal adjustments, is mounting. For example, on Tuesday of this week Taiwan announced that its year-on-year Q1 2013 GDP growth had fallen to just 1.5%. This was less than half of […]

Southeast Asia ‘s Economic Boom

By John Richardson SOUTHEAST (SEA) polyolefins demand grew by 15-20% last year in some of the region’s emerging countries, such as Indonesia, according to a source with a major global producer. Confidence is high as overseas money pours into super-hot property markets in Indonesia and Thailand. In Indonesia, property prices have risen by as much […]

China PE Demand In 2013: Flat Or Declining

By John Richardson SENTIMENT continues to severely undermine polyethylene (PE) demand in China as converters, lacking confidence in a big new economic stimulus programme later this year, keep their raw-material purchases to an absolute minimum. “It used to be the case that our customers bought four containers at a time. Now it’s down to two,” said […]

China Affordability Challenge

By John Richardson THE “gold rush” is over in China”, François-Henry Bennahmias, chief executive of Audemars Piguet, a Swiss watch company that is closing six of its 22 stores in China, told the New York Times. Swiss watch exports to mainland China dropped 26% in the first quarter from a year earlier, said the same […]

One In Three Chance Of 5% China GDP Growth

By John Richardson THERE is a one in three chance of China’s real GDP growth averaging 5% or less over four consecutive quarters before the end of 2014, warns Nomura, said Bloomberg in this article. And the bank added that its China Stress Index, which monitors the risk of a hard landing, recorded its highest […]

Sinopec And The Blog’s Favourite Triangle

By John Richardson ONE of Sinopec’s subsidiaries, Shanghai Petrochemical, has weighed-in to the debate over US shale gas by warning that cheap petrochemicals imports from the States could erode the whole of China’s competitiveness. “We can’t tell how severe the blow will be, but it will pose a serious challenge, and the entire industry will […]

The Saudi Feedstock Debate Intensifies

By John Richardson THE debate about the future competitiveness of Saudi petrochemicals versus the US is heating up. In January, we reported that Jamal Malaikah (see picture), the president of Saudi polypropylene (PP) producer National Petrochemical Industrial Co (NATPET), had warned about an eroding Middle East advantage as a result of US shale gas. And […]

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