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Asian Chemical Connections

Struggling Polyethylene In 2018, Strong Profits Elsewhere

By John Richardson THERE will perhaps be two headline directions for the global chemicals and polymers industries in 2018: I believe that the global polyethylene (PE) market has a very good chance of moving from last year’s peak margins to levels of profitability below what is expected by most companies, investors and analysts. China’s ongoing […]

China: The Cost of Shutting Down

By John Richardson ONCE a petrochemicals plant is built it is pretty hard to shut it down. This might well apply to Europe, which is why we think talk of widespread cracker and derivatives closures to make way for highly competitive new US and Middle East capacity could be overdone. And definitely, without any shadow […]

China Chlor-alkali A Real Industry Still Struggling

By John Richardson The mood on the proverbial factory floor can be very different to that in buoyant stock and other commodity markets as the impact of the economic crisis lingers, with the chor-alkali to vinyls industry in China just one an example of a real industry that is still struggling. “From the perspective of […]

Yantai Wanhua looks to jump to the top

By Malini Hariharan While looking at China it is easy to get distracted by the activities of the majors – Sinopec and PetroChina. But there is a strong second tier that is steadily becoming more visible. Yantai Wanhua, a major producer of isocynates, is an example. The blog recently heard from a source close to […]

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