Asia top stories: weekly summary

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 20 May 2016.

NE Asia propylene supply tightens on outages at China PDH units
Propylene supply has tightened in the northeast Asian market this week following outages at two major propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units in China, industry sources said on Monday.

Asia leads global growth for decorative paints – AkzoNobel
Asia’s consumption of decorative paints will likely outpace the rest of the world in the next few years, partly driven by infrastructure developments in this region, a senior executive of AkzoNobel said on Monday.

China domestic PO prices may rise on tighter supply
Domestic propylene oxide (PO) prices in China are expected to inch up as supply will tighten, with two plants in Shandong province due for turnaround this week, industry sources said on Tuesday.

Asia nylon chip makers mull production cuts on weak demand
Nylon chip producers across Asia are mulling cutting production further amid weak demand from the downstream textiles industry in recent weeks, market sources said on Wednesday.

APIC ’16: India likely to see more exports of European toluene in 2017
India is likely to import more toluene from Europe in 2017 following the adjustment of import duties in end-February/early March this year, several market players said on Thursday.

APIC’ 16: India petchems to be driven by infrastructure
India’s petrochemicals demand will be primarily driven by massive new infrastructure developments in the coming years following recent reforms and initiatives by the government to boost the economy, a senior industry official said on Thursday.