Constar International completed financial restructuring

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Constar International LLC, a leading global producer of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic containers for food and beverages, announced that the Company and its affiliated entities completed their financial restructuring and successfully emerged from Chapter 11 on May 31, 2011. The Company is now named Constar International LLC. The reorganization was completed less than five months from the filing of their Chapter 11 petitions on January 11, 2011. In conjunction with its emergence from Chapter 11, Constar also announced that it had entered into a new financing facility with Wells Fargo to provide the Company with ongoing liquidity.

MRC

(China Daily) -- Six ministries announced on Monday that they have banned the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in the production of babies' bottles in an attempt to protect the health of infants.

The China's Ministry of Health and five other ministries issued a joint notice on their websites calling for an end to the production of such bottles starting on June 1. The ministries have also forbidden the import and sale of such bottles starting Sept 1.

BPA is widely used in the production of plastics, including tableware and beverage containers. However, BPA is now understood to be an endocrine disruptor and experts say it could lead to the early sexual development of children and may cause cancer. Its use was banned in Canada in September 2010 and in the European Union in March.

On April 20, China's health ministry solicited opinions from related government agencies on a draft proposal to prohibit the manufacture and import of infant food containers incorporating the chemical.

When the final regulation was released, the ministry changed the phrase "infant food containers" into "infant nursing bottles" for clarification.

MRC

(Reuters) -- LG Chem bought around 50 KT of open-spec naphtha for first-half July arrival at Yeosu at a discount of USD 3 a tonne to Japan quote on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, lowest level seen in South Korea in nearly eight months, traders said on Wednesday. Sentiment was on a downward spiral since May 13 after Asia's top naphtha buyer Formosa shut one of its three crackers following a fire at a pipeline. "Some traders are under pressure to sell their cargoes," said a source. The last time South Korea saw spot naphtha prices in discount was on Oct. 8, 2010.

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(The Nation) -- PTT will focus on regional growth, having reached the limit in domestic expansion, with the aim of becoming the second-largest petrochemicals player behind national brands in some countries within five years.

The company will also increase the sales ratio of non-oil businesses such as Amazon coffee houses, 7-Eleven convenience stores and quick-service restaurants from 20-30 to 50 % in the next two to three years. The move will offset lower profit margins from oil sales.

Saran Rangkasiri, executive vice president of PTT, said the company would maintain the number of PTT petrol stations in Thailand at about 1,300.

The company has 30 petrol stations in Laos, 46 in the Philippines and six in Cambodia.

MRC

(Arkema) -- On May 31st 2011, Sumitomo Seika announced a project to add a new train to the existing superabsorbent production facility at Arkema's Carling acrylics platform (Moselle, France). This project will expand the site's superabsorbent annual capacity to 47 KT. Startup of the new plant is scheduled for Spring 2013.

SAPs, or Superabsorbent Polymers, are produced from acrylic acid, and are mainly used in the growing market segments of disposable babies diapers, sanitary napkins and incontinence pads.
The commissioning of this new production unit will help strengthen the position of the Carling Arkema site, one of the major world-scale acrylic monomer production plants.

Since 2008, when it acquired Arkema Superabsorbents Business, Sumitomo Seika has been marketing and selling, under its trade mark AQUAKEEP, a wide range of superabsorbents manufactured on the Arkema Carling site.

MRC