By John Richardson ON this particular day, it is worth thinking some more about how the social contract between China’s leaders and its people is evolving. Much of the commentary focusing on 4 June 1989 has described how China’s leaders have maintained social stability ever since, partly through rapid economic growth. But too many […]
Asian Chemical Connections
China Housing Is The Key Measure
By John Richardson CHINA is no longer an export-driven economy. “Eh,” you might well react as you wake up this Monday morning, “has the blog finally taken leave of its senses?” It is not us saying this, though, but rather China’s government via a statement in the state-run newspaper, the China Daily, in February. “Exports […]
Dear Mr Abbott, What On Earth Have You Done?
By John Richardson INNOVATION has to be the cornerstone of Australia’s economy from now on because of these two reasons: 1.) The China-led resources boom is over and so Australia can no longer just dig stuff out of the ground and send it to China. 2.) Australia, like all developed countries, has an ageing population. […]
China Consumer Confidence “The Worst In 17 Years”
By John Richardson LAST year, the blog was told that business at some high-end restaurants in Beijing had fallen by as much as 90% because of the government’s crackdown on corruption. And China’s top military officials are scared to even park their cars in the vicinity of high-end restaurants in case they are accused of […]
Thailand’s Coup: The Economic Suspension Has Gone
By John Richardson WE are going to feel every political, social and economic bump in the road from now on because the suspension on the proverbial automobile has gone. No longer can Asian economies compensate for their domestic problems in the way they did during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which was largely through raising […]
China Reforms: The Global Implications
By John Richardson IT can feel logical to assume that the fundamentals of the petrochemicals business in Asia haven’t really changed. When you think about it, apart from a brief interruption in the region’s success story during the Asian Financial crisis in 1997-1998, everything has been pretty much plain sailing. And in retrospect, the severity […]
Demographics Threaten China Property Collapse
By John Richardson THE persistent weakness in China’s petrochemicals markets had mainly been caused by problems in the country’s property sector, according to many delegates on the sidelines of last week’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Pattaya, Thailand. Here are some worrying numbers that help to explain this view: China’s real-estate sales declined by […]
Martial Law In Thailand: What It Means
By John Richardson SO far so good is the interpretation that some petrochemicals industry executives have placed on the long-running political crisis in Thailand. Despite the local economy being close to a recession after GDP contracted by 2.1% in Q1 of this year, the executives argue that: Most of the petrochemicals that Thailand produces are […]
US Jobs Revival A Mirage
By John Richardson THE US is well and truly back economically was once again one of the themes at this year’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Pattaya, Thailand. It was argued that shale gas has led to a manufacturing revival. Billions of dollars of investment in oil, gas, chemicals and fertilisers projects was cited […]
China Reconsiders Petchems Targets
By John Richardson CHINA has long set targets for petrochemicals self-sufficiency in each of its five-year economic plans – and those targets have been pretty aggressive as the chart above, showing the recent rise in ethylene production, indicates. These have involved often-realised plans to raise independence from exports in a particular product to a specified […]
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