Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 5 October.

Eurozone manufacturing hits two-year low as confidence plummets on trade war
Manufacturing sector growth in the eurozone was at its slowest rate in two years in September as global trade concerns push confidence down to a near three-year low, according to IHS Markit.

AkzoNobel shifts to pure-play stance following specialties sale
AkzoNobel has completed its transition to a pure-play paints and coatings company following the completion of the €10.1bn divestment of its specialty chemicals division to private equity firm the Carlyle Group and sovereign investor GIC.

European soda ash fundamentals could shift as Kazan’s plant fully ramps up
The fifth and final line of the Kazan Soda Elektrik soda ash plant in Turkey has ramped-up after over half a year of delays.

SABIC completes $2bn bond issuance after Clariant’s stake acquisition
SABIC has completed the issuance of $2bn worth of international bonds, the Saudi petrochemicals major said after it became the owner of 24.99% of Switzerland’s Clariant.

Stronger NWE and US prices drive monthly IPEX higher
Here are the September IPEX values and details of the major commodity petrochemical and polymer contract and average spot price movements for the month.

Borealis aims to ‘recalibrate’ fertilizers strategy, no plans for divestment – exec
Borealis is aiming to “recalibrate the strategy” at its struggling fertilizers operations after separating the division into a different legal entity, an executive at the Austrian polymers and fertilizers major said.

India unable to import Iranian urea because of US sanctions – MMTC
MMTC Limited will not buy urea from Iran in its import tender closing on 5 October because of US sanctions, the Indian state-run fertilizers major said.

Petchems set to make up half of global oil demand growth to 2050 – IEA
The petrochemicals sector is expected to become an increasingly dominant force in the crude oil industry as it will represent nearly half of global crude oil demand growth to 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.