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Asian Chemical Connections

No option but to bet on China

By Malini Hariharan Even as market players celebrate the finish of what has been an unexpectedly good year there are not many who expect a repeat performance. A key concern is Chinese demand which saved the industry in 2009. A massive government stimulus package boosted domestic consumption and imports of a wide range of petrochemicals. […]

The Threat From Arms-Length Project Financing

By John Richardson THE increasing use of non-recourse financing has raised the cost of projects financed since 2007 in a very difficult economic climate, warns a senior industry source. “I look at how some recent projects have been financed and worry,’ he adds. “Until 2007 money was plentiful, making it very easy to get board […]

Asian PE, PP face a weak start to 2010

Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) producers expect trade to pick up only from the second quarter of 2010 when restocking activity will resume, writes our colleague Bee Lin. Chinese importers are unlikely to build stocks before the Lunar New Year holidays which are in February. Operating rates at plastic units would also be low during […]

China’s Data Quandary: Time To Take Up Golf?

By John Richardson Carrying on with our theme of just how difficult it is to get reliable information out of China, we heard of an overseas speciality chemicals producer seeking reliable data on growth prospects for a particular province. Pic source: destination360.com “It contacted the provincial government which put it in touch with an industry […]

The latest on Mab Ta Phut

By Malini Hariharan There is some good news for chemical companies affected by the Map Ta Phut crisis. The Thai cabinet will ask the Administrative Court to remove 19 projects from the list of 65 projects that had been ordered to stop work. PTT’s No 6 gas separation project and PTT Chemical’s phenol and polyethylene […]

Philippines cracker – revival of an epic saga

By Malini Hariharan Some projects never die. JG Summit has been planning a cracker since 1995 but has always had problems in securing funding. The project was revived in 2005 even as questions were raised about its viability. It would help JG Summit secure feedstock for its polyethylene and polypropylene plants, but how would it […]

Qatar says there will be one more cracker

By Malini Hariharan Qatar has reconfirmed its commitment to build more petrochemical plants including a new worldscale cracker. At a ceremony to mark the start of construction of Qapco’s new ldPE project, the deputy premier and minister of energy and industry said Qatar was launching an aggressive plan to achieve optimal utilization of the country’s […]

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