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 7 September 2018.

Asian TDI prices may stay under pressure on limp demand
The slide in Asian import prices of toluene di-isocyanate (TDI), which begun more than five months ago, may continue further if downstream off-take fails to pick up soon enough, market participants said.

Asia petchem shares fall as new round of US-China tariffs looms
Shares of major Asian petrochemical firms were trading mostly lower on Thursday, tracking declines in global equities this week, as investors were wary about the potential impact of a fresh round of US tariffs on Chinese goods.

Asia BD may extend falls as South Korea’s YNCC plant restarts
Asia butadiene (BD) spot prices may fall further in the near term as more supply becomes available in the market following the restart of a major plant in South Korea.

Indian Oil eyes 2021 start-up for Paradip MEG unit – executive
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) expects to bring on line its planned monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant in eastern Odisha state in 2021, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

INSIGHT: Asia’s VAM under pressure; China cargoes and high feedstock cost
Ethylene-based vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) prices in southeast Asia and India for September shipments came under pressure on heightened competition amongst suppliers on the back of rising output in China and weak demand in the domestic market.