By John Richardson TIME and again over the last ten years the strength or weakness of Chinese chemicals and polymers demand has taken everyone by surprise. One method of analysis that does hold considerable value as a methodology for forecasting growth might be predictions of future credit flows for some chemicals. The big uptick in […]
Asian Chemical Connections
China’s vital internet economy cannot be sacrificed for trade deal
By John Richardson THE latest stumbling block for the US/China trade talks is the Chinese reluctance to open up its market to foreign cloud computing companies, curb requirements for companies to store data locally and loosen restrictions on the transfer of data overseas. Many people’s first reaction will be that this is all about the […]
China’s 74% Fall In High-Risk Lending Points To New Slowdown
By John Richardson THE above chart should give you a feeling of déjà vu. In early 2014, Chinese lending growth started to decline and by September of that year, broad recognition of the extent of the decline was behind a sharp retreat in global commodities prices as the global economy also slowed. History very often […]
China Scrap Plastic Crackdown: 1-2% Boost To Polyolefins Demand
By John Richardson THE DECLINE in China’s imports of scrap or waste plastic and cardboard could boost 2018 virgin polypropylene (PP) consumption in China by some 1% above our base case. Meanwhile, polyethylene (PE) demand may be 2% higher For details on what this would mean in terms of tonnes, subscribe to our monthly Asia […]
China’s Xi: Squaring Circle Of Poverty Alleviation, Environment
By John Richardson THE ONLY China that most foreigners have visited, including myself, is the southern and eastern seaboard provinces where all the talk is about booming poylolefins and other polymers demand on the rise in middle class consumption. So strong is middle class consumption growth via mobile internet sales that the multiples of polyethylene […]
Next Polyethylene Downcycle: Risk That History Will Repeat Itself
By John Richardson WE can break the history of the global polyethylene (PE) business so far this century into four major phases, thanks to the above chart, which was compiled with the help of our excellent Supply & Demand Database: 2000-2001: Global polyethylene (PE) operating rates dipped to an average of 81% on the end […]
China’s 19th Party Congress: Stronger President Xi Good For Petchems Growth
By John Richardson I SEE three Scenarios for Chinese economic growth, and so of course petrochemicals demand growth, in 2018-2025. See below where I detail how these three Scenarios would affect growth in demand for polypropylene (PP). But first of all, let’s deal with the issue of the 19th National Party Congress meeting, which begins […]
Why China Is Becoming More Innovative Than The West
By John Richardson THE data is quite staggering. Last year, mobile payments in China totalled $5.5 trillion versus compared with just a $112 billion. This means that on a per capita or person basis, mobile internet payments totalled $3,900 in China in 2016 versus just $345 in the US. In the space of just a few […]
Life Cycle Of Plastics Packaging Demand And Internet Sales
By John Richardson THERE is a huge amount of excitement out there right now about booming internet sales and how this also boosting packaging demand and so sales of polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene and polystyrene. China is, not surprisingly, the biggest growth market. Demand for foamed PE is, for example, booming in China […]
Jump to page: