By John Richardson THE article of faith publicly expressed at last week’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Fukuoka, Japan, was that the current problems with demand in China and India were only temporary. Discussions the blog held were packed with the conventional wisdom that not enough capacity would be built over the next few […]
Asian Chemical Connections
MEG reacts to Taiwan developments
By Malini Hariharan Spot monoethylene glycol (MEG) markets have quickly reacted to news that Nan Ya Plastics, an affiliate of the Formosa Plastics Group, has been ordered by the Taiwanese government to shut down two plants. Prices surged by $15-30/tonne to $1,140-1,160/tonne CFR China, reports the blog’s colleague Becky Zhang on ICIS news. Nan Ya […]
Safety issues haunt Formosa
By Malini Hariharan Formosa Plastics Group’s (FPG) problems appear to be escalating with the Taiwanese government ordering six plants to be shut from 1 June on safety concerns. Local news reports state that the plants will have to remain closed until the Yunlin county government and the Council of Labour Affairs are convinced that safety […]
23 Mentions Of China Downturn At APIC
By John Richardson THE blog attended the Asia Pacific Petrochemical Conference (APIC) in Fukuoka, Japan, today during which it heard mention of the phrase “China downturn” on 23 occasions from different contacts. Confidence is clearly at a lower than last year than at APIC in Mumbai, when all the talk was about delayed introduction of […]
Boom, Gloom and the New Normal published this week
Today, the blog is proud to announce the publication the first Chapter of its new eBook: ‘Boom, Gloom and the New Normal: how Western BabyBoomers are changing global chemical demand patterns, again’ It is co-authored with Paul Hodges of International eChem – author of the Chemicals & Economy blog. A new chapter will […]
PTA – one more view
By Malini Hariharan One view on the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) market, highlighted by the blog last week, is that operating rates in the next few years will be constrained by a shortage of feedstock of paraxylene (PX). A rapid buildup in PTA capacity is taking place in China where new plants with a total […]
To frack or not to frack…
By Malini Hariharan …is a debate that has starting moving out of the US. A desire for energy independence has seen countries like Poland to embrace shale gas with the government welcoming US companies to quickly develop the country’s reserves, estimated at 5.3 trillion cubic metres. This would be enough to meet Poland’s annual gas […]
Misplaced Euphoria Threatens Industry
By John Richardson THE euphoria sweeping through the US petrochemicals industry seems to indicate strong support for the “supercycle” theory. Some of the comments made during the first-quarter results season certainly point that way, as does the upbeat mood of presentations made to investors over the past few months. A consensus view appears to have […]
Boom, Gloom and the New Normal
The blog is delighted to announce the title of its new eBook, jointly authored with fellow blogger, Paul Hodges. It explains how Western BabyBoomers are changing chemical demand patterns, again. We believe it will become vital reading for all those working in the global chemical industry. The first chapter of the book will be […]
Metallocene action from Chinaplas
By Malini Hariharan The fight for the metallocene market is heating up with South Korean producers increasingly looking at getting a share of this attractive market. SK Corp confirmed plans to build a new metallocene linear-low density polyethylene (MLLDPE) plant outside Asia once a new plant in South Korea starts operations, writes the blog’s colleague […]
Jump to page: