India’s Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has taken initiatives to overcome the hurdles posed by Covid-19 pandemic and has suggested state-owned units to strengthen their performance by exploring Joint Ventures with global enterprises looking for investments. The initiative came on the directions of Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri DV Sadananda Gowda who has … Read more
Clariant Chemicals India Limited announced that it has restarted operations at its production facilities in the country, following the partial relaxations from COVID – 19 related Nationwide Lockdown by Government of India. Clariant’s production facilities situated in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are back in partial operation with limited capacity and will continue with partial … Read more
Deepak Nitrite’s fully-owned subsidiary Deepak Phenolics to begin production of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) at its plant in Dahej, Gujarat, India. The company confirmed in its official disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange that the company commissioned a 30,000 metric ton per annum plant at Dahej to make Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) from Acetone, thus significantly reducing … Read more
Linde announced it has leveraged its broad technology portfolio to sign a new contract with India’s largest refiner Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). Praxair India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Linde, will build, own and operate an air separation unit (ASU) to supply oxygen and nitrogen to its incumbent customer, IOCL, for its … Read more
Saudi Aramco’s plan to buy $15-billion stake in Reliance Industries hydrocarbon business may not go through due to the rising risk of collapsing oil prices, US-based brokerage Bernstein has warned. The unique combination of excess crude oil global supply, 30% drop in demand due to coronavirus crisis and continuous price fall weighed heavily on Aramco’s … Read more
ExxonMobil on Wednesday broke ground on its solely funded petrochemical chemical complex in Huizhou, southern China’s Guangdong Province, according to a report by Chinese media Xinhuanet. A special “cloud ceremony” was conducted online with video links connecting the Huizhou Dayawan Petrochemical Industrial Park and locations in Beijing and Dallas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The … Read more
Nippon Shokubai and Sanyo Chemical Industries announced that their merger agreement and formation of joint venture has been postponed over the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This merger was planned to establish a joint holding company, Synfomix, Ltd. by way of a joint share transfer, which would subsequently become the integrated holding company serving as parent to … Read more
Sumitomo Chemical announced on 2nd April that it invested $30 million in Conagen, a U.S. biotechnology company. The company has conducted joint research with Conagen since 2018 on the biosynthesis of existing chemicals. The fresh investment will further promote its strategic business alliance with Conagen and develop innovative high functional products and processes by way … Read more
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited (HKEX: 00338; SSE: 600688; NYSE: SHI) announced the annual results for the twelve months ended 31st December 2019. Net sales of the company in 2019 amounted to RMB88.1 billion ($12.45 billion), a decrease of 7.90% from the previous year’s RMB95.6 million ($13.5 billion). The decrease in sales was attributed to … Read more
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. has expanded its production facilities for meltblown nonwovens at its wholly owned subsidiary Sunrex Industry Co., Ltd. The move comes as an attempt to respond to the increasing demand for industrial-use meltblown nonwovens, and will increase the total production capacity of the Mitsui Chemicals Group for these materials by 50%. The expanded … Read more
Domo Chemicals GmbH, a Germany-based materials manufacturer announced its plans to build a nylon compounding plant in Zhejiang, China in a move to increase its focus on the Asia Pacific region. The new plant will be capable of producing 50,000 ton of sustainable and innovative engineered nylon compounds each year, the company said in a … Read more
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (MCHC) has announced the transfer of Life Science Institute Inc’s affiliate, Qualicaps to Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC), with effect from 1 July. “Through this transfer, MCC will enable Qualicaps to provide higher value-added solutions to the global capsule market by not only strengthening manufacturing technology leveraging mutual resources and accelerating chemical … Read more
Lotte Chemical on March 4 suspended the operation of nine plants following an explosion at its Daesan Complex in Daesan-eup, Seosan County, South Chungcheong Province, Business Korea reported. The accident is expected to have an impact on the ethylene market. Lotte Chemical produces 4.5 million ton per year of ethylene annually at home and abroad. … Read more
Asahi Kasei has decided to discontinue its business for the styrenic resins SAN (Styrene-acrylonitrile resin), ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), and ACS. According to the company, the operations of SAN plant at Kawasaki Works will be closed in March 2021. The business to be discontinued began with the 1962 start-up of the SAN plant in Kawasaki, … Read more
LyondellBasell, the world’s largest licensor of polyolefin technologies, announced that Hyosung Vina Chemicals Co., Ltd. will use the LyondellBasell Spheripol technology for a new facility. The process technology will be used for a 300,000 ton per year polypropylene plant to be built in Cai Mep Industrial Zone, Vung Tau Province, Vietnam. “This additional award for … Read more
Lotte Chemical of South Korea shut down its ethylene cracker in Daesan after an explosion that injured at least 31 people. It also announced an indefinite force majeure on supplies. The explosion occurred on March 4, about 3 am South Korea time from a fire at a compressor unit within the naphtha cracker. The fire … Read more
Indorama Ventures Limited (IVL) reported a net loss despite rise in volume growth in the fiscal year 2019. The sales volume grew by 18%, driven reportedly by inorganic expansion. Industry-wide spreads declined to historical lows in 2019, leading to 20% reduction in IVL’s core EBITDA, as company stated. Operating cash flow increased 33% to $1.3 … Read more
Reliance Industries announced on 29th Feb that it has acquired a controlling stake in textile manufacturer Alok Industries Ltd for Rs 250 crore ($34.3 million). Alongside JM Financial Asset Rehabilitation Co Ltd, Reliance had a bid to buy Alok Industries which had been auctioned by lenders under the insolvency and bankruptcy law to recover their … Read more
Pidilite Industries, an Indian manufacturer of adhesives, construction chemicals and specialty chemicals on Thursday announced acquiring majority stake in the Indian subsidiary of Italian firm Tenax SPA. Pidilite has entered into a definitive agreement with Tenax SPA for acquiring 70 per cent of the share capital of Tenax India Stone Products for cash consideration of … Read more
India’s Fairchem Speciality Limited reported rise in profit growth in the third quarter 2019 on strong Oleochemicals margins. The company has posted net profit of Rs.7.2 crores ($1 million) for the period ended December 31, 2019, an increase of 7.6% as against Rs.6.69 crores ($0.93 million) for the prior-year quarter. The company has reported net … Read more