By Malini Hariharan With so much happening in petrochemical markets the blog has not had time to comment on the ongoing turmoil in China’s labour market. But we had noted a few months back that factories in southern China were experiencing labour shortages and preparing to pay more as minimum wages in Guangdong province had […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Fall in futures leads physical markets
By Malini Hariharan The weakness in Asian petrochemical markets is continuing with buyers taking cues from developments in the crude oil and stock markets. In polymers, despite a slight rebound in polyethylene (PE) prices late last week the buying sentiment remained negative in China. The mood worsened today following a 5% fall in linear-low density […]
China flexes its muscles
By Malini Hariharan If you are trying to find an explanation for the recent price movement in Asian polyolefin markets, a report in today’s Wall Street Journal offers some clues. China, says the report, has been eating into some of its reserves resulting in a decline in prices of commodities such as refined copper, iron […]
Unravelling China’s polyolefin numbers
By Malini Hariharan There is some good and not so good news from China. Import and production numbers for January to April are now available and they tell an interesting story. The good news is that Chinese demand, measured in terms of imports (data from China customs) and local production (data from CBI China), has […]
Price slide intensifies
By Malini Hariharan The weakness in Asian markets is spreading with steep drops also being reported in olefin prices. Ethylene prices dropped by $160-170/tonnes last week while propylene declined $90-110/tonne, writes my colleague Soo Hwee, ICIS pricing editor for olefins. The poor market conditions were attributed to softness in crude oil and naphtha prices as […]
Chinaplas: Optimism, consolidation, new plant start-ups and more
By Malini Hariharan Chinaplas has just concluded and my colleagues have filed some great reports from Shanghai. Worries about a margin squeeze in the second half of the year persist but polymer producers seem to be increasingly confident about long-term growth prospects. The chairman of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association (CPPIA) talked of the […]
Will crude oil revive PE markets?
By Malini Hariharan Has the steady increase in crude oil prices last week prompted Chinese buyers to resume purchases? That is what a Shanghai-based distributor of Middle East product is hoping. And it is the only explanation that he can find for concluding a sale of nearly 10,000 tonnes of polyethylene (PE) yesterday. After weeks […]
Formosa awaits approval for big expansions in China
By Malini Hariharan In a research note released today, UBS has highlighted plans by Formosa Chemical and Fibres (FCFC) for major expansions at Ningbo, China. The Taiwanese petrochemicals major is in the process of getting Chinese government approval for a new 1.5m tonnes/year PTA plant, a 200,000 tonnes/year PS unit and a 150,000 tonnes/year ABS […]
Dealing With The Middle East Logistics Challenge
Singapore’s container port Source of picture: www.gcaptain.com By Malini Hariharan and John Richardson A big challenge facing many companies that have built large polymer plants that are located far from key markets is how to move product most efficiently. These facilities have been built to take advantage of competitive feedstocks in regions such as […]
Polymer trading – a great investment opportunity?
By Malini Hariharan I recently met a businessman at a dinner party. After exchanging the usual greetings he eagerly disclosed his plans for a new business venture – trading in polymers. “There will be three of us in this business; we plan to import polymers in bulk from Taiwan and China; each consignment will not […]
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