By Malini Hariharan There have been no headline-grabbing deals but bit by bit PTT Global Chemical is extending its business beyond Asia and entering new product areas. Yesterday, PTT Global announced plans for a joint venture with Perstorp Holding France in toluene diisocyanate (TDI), aliphatic isocynates such as hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and derivatives. PTT Global […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Fresh US sanctions to target Iran petchems
By Malini Hariharan The US is looking to introduce fresh measures targeted at the petrochemicals industry. The specifics of the new sanctions are not yet available but the goal, says this report, is to bar foreign companies from doing business with Iran’s petrochemical industry by threatening them with being banned from U.S. markets. US companies […]
India PO demand set to decline
By Malini Hariharan The last two weeks has seen a recovery in Indian polyolefins demand led by developments in China. Prices of PE and PP have risen sharply and traders expect the uptrend to continue for the next couple of weeks as converters need to rebuild depleted inventories. But unless buying can be sustained in […]
China’s Debt Problems
By John Richardson Fellow blogger Paul Hodges made a convincing case in a post on Tuesday that China’s economic model faces some major challengs. “It seems increasingly clear that China‘s economic policy took a wrong turn 10 years ago, when it joined the World Trade Organisation,” wrote Hodges. From 2001 onwards, China transformed itself into the […]
Chemicals Companies Sleepwalking Into 2012
By John Richardson CHEMICALS companies appear to be sleepwalking into a crisis as bad as 2008 because they have sacked their in-house economists and take what they want to hear from official bodies such as the Federal Reserve, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The famous international investor, Marc Faber, recently wrote that […]
Dalian Reflects China-EU Risks
By John Richardson AT first glance it might seem strange that the Dalian Commodity Exchange’s linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) futures contract has fluctuated so dramatically on news emanating from the Eurozone. The May 2012 contract – the one most actively traded at the moment and therefore the one most closely watched by the market – fell […]
China’s Precarious Balancing Act
Him again…..Jim Chanos Source of picture. www.marketfolly.com By John Richardson THE Chinese government is playing a perilous game at the moment as it tries to undo damage caused by economic stimulus. As it grapples with attempting to lower property prices, while not causing a real-estate market collapse, this once again brings to mind famous […]
It’s Always Helpful To Have A Plan
By John Richardson THERE are four major reasons why the first three quarters of 2011 have been excellent for chemicals companies, which are: 1.) Strong co-product credits have supported what have been weak commodity-grade polyolefin markets since March of this year (higher-value grades, such as co-polymer grade polypropylene for auto applications, have been better) 2.) […]
India to export more benzene
By Malini Hariharan Indian exports of benzene are set to rise over the next few years as new plants start up. “India will remain in a net surplus position over the next five years and exports will continue, with [benzene] from western India moving to the Middle East, the US and Europe, and benzene from […]
Polyester still booming
By Malini Hariharan The blog has been listening to some interesting presentations on the polyester chain at the Indian Petrochem – 2011 conference in Mumbai. The global economic slowdown does not appear to have dampened prospects for polyester demand. “Demand for polyester grew by 5.6m tonnes last year which was atypical; we all thought that […]
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