Europe and China: A two-tier market is hard to bear… Source of picture: blog.pinkcakebox By John Richardson CHINA’S polyolefin pricing is likely to remain under downward pressure over the next few months as a result of a persistent inventory overhang, new supply and weak construction and auto markets, two traders and one producer have […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Aromatics get complicated
By Malini Hariharan Asian aromatics markets are getting increasingly hard to read not merely because of volatile crude prices. Demand, usually strong at this time of the year, has so far failed to materialise. The US gasoline season has started on a slow note. In Asia, benzene demand has been hit by maintenance shutdowns and […]
Sinopec and Iran’s NPC Sign Investment MOU
Out of the investment deep-freeze? Source: tehrandaily.wordpress.com By John Richardson A VERY interesting story from my colleague Bee Lin Chow on ICIS news today reports the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Sinopec and Iran’s National Petrochemical Co (NPC). The agreement will explore joint- venture opportunities in petrochemicals and related businesses in […]
Is China Targeting Polyolefin Re-export Market?
By John Richardson MORE evidence that China will not remain as easy a sink for surplus polyolefin volumes – especially in the case of the higher-cost importers – is emerging. “There are plans to open a bonded warehouse in Guangdong province to sell RMB material converted into US dollar product,” a Singapore-based polyolefin trader told me […]
SK moving to China?
South Korean producers have for long been dependent on the Chinese market to absorb a large percentage of their output. So it is perhaps not surprising to read that SK Energy plans to move the headquarters of its chemicals division to China. It is also said to be looking at hiving off the chemicals business […]
Twists expected in the LyondellBasell-Reliance story
By Malini Hariharan (Malini is now joint blogger for Asian Chemical Connections) Reliance’s bid for LyondellBasell is likely to be a long drawn out affair with potential for complications from competitive bids. I talked to some sources familiar with the transaction and they say that Reliance is unlikely to be the only company interested in […]
Caution is the name of the game
By Malini Hariharan (Malini is now joint blogger for Asian Chemical Connections) Japanese chemical majors have raised their sales and profit forecasts for the second half of the fiscal year ending 31 March 2010, but the revisions are marginal and companies are still holding a conservative outlook. Earnings in the first half of this fiscal […]
China and M-E Delays To Offer More Market Support
As this updated table from my colleagues at CBI in China illustrates, cracker-complex delays in China have the potential to further stagger the arrival of new volumes into the market. Chinanewcapacitytable.doc This follows the widespread problems in starting up new capacity in the Middle East. The 800,000 tonne/year Fujian Petrochemical/ExxonMobil/Saudi Aramco cracker is on-stream, […]
Is Dalian setting the markets?
Make your own mind up about the role of the Dalian Commodity Exchange linear-low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) futures contracts from the interviews below. The first quote is from Sinopec – from an ICIS news story. There then follows my interviews with a major Asian producer and a consultant based in Asia. […]
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