Home Blogs Asian Chemical Connections

Asian Chemical Connections

China’s Evolving Autos Market: What It Means For PP

By John Richardson THE tide of credit that lifted all boats in China meant that chemicals company CEOs could get away with clichés such as “the rise of the middle classes” and “increasing urbanisation” and later point to strong sales figures as support for their arguments. But now the CEOs are going to have to […]

No Ethylene Margins Peak In 2016

  By John Richardson FORECASTS of European capacity closures and project delays and cancellations have led some financial analysts to the conclusion that there will be a peak in ethylene margins from 2016 onwards. This will provide a few years of very strong returns for the global industry before the big wave of US capacity […]

Oversupply In Petchems Still On The Way

Perhaps not just yet…. By John Richardson COULD it be that some chemicals industry players and observers, in the great galloping rush to join the supercycle stampede, have got ahead of themselves in predicting that we are already through the bottom of the margins trough? This distinct possibility was raised by Joe Duffy, consultant with […]

Polyolefins Supply Surge Warning – Yet Again

By John Richardson A GREAT deal more polyolefins supply is expected to hit the Asian markets over the next few months resulting in what two chemicals analysts tell the blog will be depressed margins up until March next year. After that the analysts – one in Singapore and the other in South Korea – predict […]

Don’t worry, be happy

By Malini Hariharan The blog was able to talk to a Korean polyolefins producer who was not perturbed by the recent weakness in Chinese demand and was fairly confident of selling October volumes. “It’s the holiday season so converters do not want to buy. But I see no reason to lower prices. We have sold […]

Dealing With The Middle East Logistics Challenge

Singapore’s container port     Source of picture: www.gcaptain.com By Malini Hariharan and John Richardson A big challenge facing many companies that have built large polymer plants that are located far from key markets is how to move product most efficiently. These facilities have been built to take advantage of competitive feedstocks in regions such as […]

“Middle East To Control Basic Chems In 3-5 Years”

Abu Dhabi ahead in the race? Source of picture: www.gulftrackservices.com By John Richardson The global basic chemicals industry is likely to end up under the dominant control of the Middle East, and possibly Asia, within the next 3-5 years, a senior chemicals industry source told this blog. “We have known for a long time that […]

Jump to page: