Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 6 December 2019.

Saudi Aramco to raise $25.6bn from IPO; final price at SR32/share
Saudi Aramco will raise $25.6bn from its initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi bourse, the biggest on record, putting the oil giant’s final valuation set at $1.7tr.

Southeast Asia MA stable; weak demand to dilute cost pressure
Southeast Asia’s maleic anhydride (MA) import discussions were flat as upside pressure from rising feedstock costs is mitigated by low buying interest.

GPCA ’19: Oman to invest $28bn in next 5 to 7 years – oil and gas minister
Oman is looking to invest “around $28bn over the next 5-7 years” in its petrochemical industry, the country’s oil and gas minister said on Wednesday.

Asia benzene on uptrend on higher consumption, buoyant crude
Asia’s benzene market continued to trend higher on expectations of higher consumption next year.
While the region is expected to add more new benzene capacities next year, this appears to be outdone by downstream sectors, which would add twice as much capacities in 2020.

Asia C3-based IPA output may grow as acetone prices surge
Propylene (C3)-based isopropanol (IPA) output in Asia may increase as acetone-based producers have been incurring losses caused by recent spikes in feedstock prices.

Asia PA sinks to 2019-low on tepid demand; outlook stays grim
Asia’s phthalic anhydride (PA) import prices remain in the doldrums as wider discounts failed to uplift buying.