Source of table: The Economist By John Richardson WHEN you are an energy giant such as Shell you can afford to explore multiple avenues in an effort to profit from China’s long-term energy needs. Thus Shell re-affirmed last week that it plans to invest $1bn in a year in exploiting the country’s vast shale-gas […]
Asian Chemical Connections
China Stockpiles Mount
Source: New York Times By John Richardson INVENTORIES of finished goods are mounting in factories across China as manufacturers continue to run hard, according to this New York Times article – perhaps in the hope that in 3-6 months time, everything will be alright again. “My supplier’s inventory is huge because he cannot cut […]
Recovery Always 3-6 Months Away
By John Richardson THE recovery always seems to be three to six months away. Thus, as hope fades for a Q4 economic rebound in China, a marketing and sales executive with a major European speciality chemicals player told the blog earlier this week: “Everything will be fine in the New Year once China’s new leaders […]
China Coal-to-Olefins Strong Economics
By John Richardson THE economics of China’s coal-based olefins industry are favourable when measured on a cash cost basis in a high oil-price environment, as the slide above from the Singapore-based consultancy Methanol Market Services Asia (MMSA) illustrates. But even when oil prices decline, which occurred in May this year, swinging cash costs back in […]
Reliance Goes Boldly
Source: ICIS By John Richardson Reliance Industries is going boldly (no split infinitives here) where nobody has gone before: It is to build a cracker, which could eventually produce 1.6m tonne/year of ethylene, based entirely on off-gas feedstock supplied by its 1.24m tonne/year of refinery capacity at Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. Nobody has attempted anything […]
A Game Of Two Halves
Source: ICIS By John Richardson CHINA’S fibre intermediates industry could end of being a game of two halves in 2012, to use an old football (or soccer for the benefit of our America readers) cliché. The reason is that the first half of the year was characterised by very weak demand as the overall […]
Asian LDPE Margins Reach New Low
LDPE margins in 2012 By John Richardson NORTHEAST Asian integrated low-density polyethylene (LDPE) margins keep plunging new depths. The margins were at their most negative since ICIS records began in 2000, according to the ICIS Asian PE Margin Report for the week ending 10 August. And the report for the week ending 17 August said that they had fallen even […]
Dysfunctional Oil Markets
By John Richardson “HOW do a I tell my customers that polyethylene (PE) price rises are justified by more expensive naphtha, when the market is so weak?” asked an Asia-based sales and marketing executive with a major producer earlier this month. A second executive with another producer, who has responsibility for the China market, expressed […]
Paying For China’s Infrastructure
By John Richardson NEW infrastructure projects in China (see above chart from Rio Tinto) might deliver a boost to chemicals and polymer demand growth in Q4 this year and into 2013. But doubts are being expressed about whether some of these projects can be funded, given the build-up of bad debts in China’s financial system […]
China’s Lending Problems
By John Richardson CHINA’s bank lending slumped by 41.3 percent in July from the previous month, the country’s central bank announced last Friday. This was well below the median forecast of 14 economists polled by Dow Jones newswire, and added to the gloom created by the earlier release of disappointing trade, output and retail sales […]
Jump to page: