Asia top stories – weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 2 July 2021.

OUTLOOK: Asia naphtha poised for rosy demand support in H2
Asia’s naphtha demand will be buoyed in the second half by greater downstream capacity, with new crackers starting up in South Korea, while sustained curbs in refinery output will keep supply in check.

Vietnam GDP growth accelerates in Q2 on strong industry output
Vietnam’s economic expansion accelerated in the second quarter on an annualized basis, backed by strong performance from the manufacturing sector.

Malaysia industries reel from indefinite extension of full lockdown
Manufacturing constraints in Malaysia will continue indefinitely with the extension of the full lockdown in the country, which is battling a third wave of COVID-19 infections.

PODCAST: Divergent trends ahead for Asian and US PC markets
Market sentiment in Asian polycarbonate (PC) spot markets have been bearish lately amid weak demand and upstream market declines, particularly in the Chinese bisphenol A (BPA) spot markets. However, the US PC market continues to be relatively strong on tight supply and good demand.

Asia’s fatty acids market lacklustre despite cut in India’s crude palm oil import duty
Asia’s fatty acids market remained lacklustre as players stayed on the sidelines despite news that India will cut its import duty for crude palm oil and that Indonesia will reduce its export tax and levy for the palm oil complex markets.