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Chemicals and the Economy

“No pain, no gain” the outlook for China in 2014

Its been a great year for polyethylene (PE) demand growth in China.  But whether this relates to real or speculative demand, and whether it will continue next year, is another story.  As the chart shows, with trade data from Global Trade Information Services: Overall demand has surged 14% in 2013 (red column) versus 2011 (blue) […]

Ineos confirms new covenants agreed

As expected, Ineos have today confirmed that their proposed new covenants have now been accepted by their lenders. For those unfamiliar with the mechanisms used in the world of high-yield debt, this does not involve any new money, or a refinancing. Instead, it means that the lenders have agreed to provide Ineos with more head-room […]

Difficult times call for tough decisions

Downturns are difficult times. There is always the hope that markets might improve, and this can delay the implementation of tough decisions on plant closures. Nobody wants to shut down, and then see a competitor benefit from an improving market. But if markets do stay depressed, then precious cash is being wasted whilst plants operate […]

$26bn LyondellBasell restructuring hits legal minefield

Vita’s restructuring was relatively simple from a legal point of view, as it just involved European rules. But Lyondell Chemical’s bankruptcy filing last month under the US Chapter 11 process seems to have thrown up some very complex legal issues. This is because it involves two different sets of bond-holders – those who bought the […]

Vita’s restructuring sets a pattern

Vita Group has chemical sales of €1.5bn, 5000 employees, and manufactures in 20 countries. In December it announced that it was in talks over restructuring, to avoid breaching covenants on the €663m of debt taken on in 2005, when it was bought by private equity group, Texas Pacific (TPG). It now looks set to emerge […]

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