Taiwanese government to consider moving its Kuokuang petrochemical project abroad

(CNA) -- The Taiwanese government will consider moving its Kuokuang petrochemical project abroad to any country other than China, according to an economic affairs official Tuesday. Hwang Jung-chiou, vice minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), made the remark at a global technology forum while responding to media inquiries about where the USD 20.74 billion project could be moved to overseas.


China currently bans wholly foreign-owned enterprises from building naphtha cracking plants within its borders, which is why it is not an option for the government, explained the vice minister.


Economic Affairs Minister Shih Yen-shiang on Saturday ruled out the possibility of the Kuokuang project being built in Taiwan, a day after president Ma Ying-jeou withdrew support for the construction of the complex in central Taiwan's Changhua county, where it was originally planned.


The investment project has spurred nation-wide protests from students, environmental and local groups, who were concerned that the project could cause severe damage to Taiwan's environment and ecology.


MRC

PTT Tank Terminal to expand its tanks for new petrochemical products

(Plastemart) -- PTT Tank Terminal Co plans to invest Bt5 bln to expand its tanks for new petrochemical products such as feedstock for producing bioplastic goods, once parent PTT invests in this business.


Currently, PTT Tank Terminal has six tanks to store petrochemical products, including sulphuric acid, propylene, methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile and ammonia. It has storage capacity of 70 KT at one time and 400 KTa. PTT recently completed construction of two ports, with total storage capacity of 2 mln tpa. It is currently using only one port.


MRC

Malaysia to maintain the anti-dumping measure regarding PET imports

(Bernama) -- Malaysia has decided to maintain the anti-dumping measure regarding imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or commonly known as plastic resin originating or exported from Thailand. This follows an administrative review initiated on Oct 14 last year on imports of the product from Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand upon the request from a domestic producer.


In a statement, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said: "The government has now completed the investigation and has confirmed the likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury to the Malaysian domestic industry with respect of imports of PET originating or exported from Thailand, if the anti-dumping duties were removed."


The ministry said the Malaysian Royal Customs Department would enforce the collection of the definitive duties. "The final measure will be in effect for five years from the day the government gazettes the final determination of the investigation", it said.


MRC

Asia caustic soda prices are soaring on the back of tight supply and robust demand

(ICIS) -- Asia caustic soda prices are soaring on the back of tight supply and robust demand, a trend that is expected to continue in the near term as downstream demand in northeast Asia grows, market sources said on Wednesday.


Spot prices were last assessed at USD 440-455/dry metric tonne (dmt) (EUR 299-309/dmt) on a free on board (FOB) northeast Asia basis on 22 April 2011, according to ICIS data. The figure is an increase of almost 50% from USD 290-310/dmt at the start of this year, and is more than double the USD 210-220/dmt seen at the end of April last year.


Global caustic soda demand in 2010 stood at 61.1m dmt and is set to rise this year, fuelled by growth in key consumption sectors for caustic soda such as alumina, detergents and textiles as well as pulp and paper production, market sources said.


A global average growth of 4% across all end-user segments is expected from 2010-2015, which will support prices, an industry source said.


MRC

Clariant acquired Sud-Chemie

(Clariant) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, today announced that it has completed the purchase of 96.15% of the shares in Sud-Chemie from One Equity Partners and the family shareholders.


Clariant will make a public offer to acquire the outstanding shares from Sud-Chemie minority shareholders. The overall transaction value amounts to approx. EUR 1.9 billion (CHF 2.5 billion).
⌠This transaction is an important milestone in Clariant's history. Following the successful completion of our restructuring in 2010, the acquisition of Sud-Chemie accelerates our strategy of profitable growth, said Hariolf Kottmann, CEO of Clariant. ⌠Together we will now start the integration process to successfully integrate Sud-Chemie into Clariant, Kottmann added.


By acquiring leading positions in the fields of process catalysts and adsorbent agents, Clariant is expanding its portfolio with two fast-growing business-units. Sud-Chemie also has a strong research and development organization focusing on market segments with significant growth potential.


MRC