By John Richardson SPENDING time with your customers is always a good idea, but doing so seems to have become even more important during a very difficult year for China’s polyolefins business. The reason is a split between the fortunes of the top end of the business – the more differentiated grades of polyethylene (PE) […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Structural Threats To 2012 China Rebound
By John Richardson SERIOUS structural problems with China’s economy threaten another disappointing year for polymer demand following flat, or even negative, growth for many of the major synthetic resins during 2011. Last week the blog visited Singapore and held discussions with several industry players and chemicals analysts. They agreed that polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl […]
Middle East-China PE Exports Up 60%
By John Richardson NORTHEAST Asian polyethylene (PE) exports to China fell by 34% in January-August this year compared with the same period in 2010 as Middle East shipments surged by 60%, according to Global Trade Information Services – click here for a graph: ChinaPEImportsJan-Aug2011.ppt Exports from the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region, which […]
China Tries To Transform Itself
By John Richardson CAN China succeed in transforming its economy from one which is over-reliant on exports to one where domestic consumption is a much bigger driver of growth? And how long will this process take and in the interim, can we expect a few years of lower GDP (gross domestic product) growth? As delegates […]
China Inflation Impact On Chemicals
By John Richardson POLYETHYLENE (PE) prices were assessed stable-to-weaker by my colleagues at ICIS pricing late last week as Sinopec was reported to be evaluating a 10% reduction in operating rates. Sinopec hardly ever cuts production on market conditions as its main objective is not to make a profit, but rather serve local manufacturing industry […]
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