Credit Suisse initiated coverage of Dutch-based AkzoNobel with an ⌠underperform rating

(ICIS) -- Investment bank Credit Suisse has initiated coverage of Dutch-based AkzoNobel with an ⌠underperform rating and a ┬39.50/share ($54.86/share) target price, it said on Thursday.
The specialty chemicals and paints maker's earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for 2012 are expected to be below market forecasts, on the back of sustained end-market weakness in residential housing across Europe and the US, the analysts added.

⌠AkzoNobel is exposed to residential construction markets across Europe, Americas, and Asia. AkzoNobel volumes are therefore heavily dependent on residential activity levels in these markets, analysts said.

Credit Suisse said that European and North American residential activity is near 50-year lows.
The analysts forecast that European construction markets are likely to deteriorate further before getting better, due to above average unemployment levels, low consumer confidence and the inability to access finance, which will place ongoing pressure upon AkzoNobel's volumes.


MRC

(Plastemart) -- Saudi Aramco has announced plans to expand its petrochemical operations to Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries, for which it is conducting intensive studies. The Saudi major also seeks new investment opportunities in various parts of China. In 2010, the company announced plans to invest around $120 bln over the next 5-6 years in developing projects in the oil and petrochemical sectors. Half of this is to be invested in the oil sector, while the remaining investment would be for the development of petrochemical projects and foreign investments.

MRC

(MRC) -- This year the Ukrainian producer Karpatneftechem increased the output of low-pressure polyethylene (HDPE) to 77,200 tonnes. Over August-September, the company was working with reduced capacities utilization, according to MRC ScanPlast.


In 2007, Karpatneftechem suspended HDPE production, due to economic issues. Only in last September PE production was resumed, and by this October the company had reached 100%capacity utilization. Following 2010 results, Karpatneftechem produced about 33,500 tonnes of low-pressure polyethylene.

This year, a level of loading has been also kept at a fairly high level - more than 90%. Only in August - September, due to a planned turnaround of pyrolysis furnaces Karpatneftechem reduced PE production to 6,700-6,900 tonnes. Following the 9-months results, overall volume of PE production made 77,200 tonnes.

MRC reference: in 2005-2007, overall annual production of HDPE at Karpatneftechem exceeded 100,000 tonnes.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced that it has been selected by Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co., Ltd. to provide technology to produce key petrochemicals to meet growing demand in China. Yantai Wanhua will use Honeywell's UOP process technology, catalysts and adsorbents to produce propylene, a building block for films and packaging, and isobutane, a raw material used in the polyurethane production process, at its facility in Yantai, China. The facility will use UOP C3 Oleflex process technology to produce 750,000 metric tons of propylene from propane annually and the UOP Butamer (TM) process to produce 565,000 metric tons of isobutane annually. In addition to technology licensing, catalysts and adsorbents, Honeywell's UOP will provide engineering design, equipment, staff training and technical service for the project. The new units are expected to start up in 2013.


MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- The first nanomaterial from an entirely renewable resource≈that advance, nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), was among many material developments announced during the recent 2011 Biopolymers Symposium, showcasing how R&D dollars are chasing the bioplastic/renewable polymer space, which may be small in size relative to traditional plastics but is growing rapidly in applications.

Joining NCC, which is described as a highly ordered crystalline cellulose that can be used to fortify bioplastics for a 100% biobased nanocomposite, was biobased aliphatic thermoplastic urethanes (TPU), compostable adhesives, stereo polylactic acid (PLA) blends, 100% biobased polyesters, food-contact film grades of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), and more.

Wadood Hamad introduced NCC to the symposium on behalf of CelluForce, noting that while cellulose is abundant in nature, it doesn't exist on its own, and isolating has heretofore been a major hurdle. Research into the nanocrystals goes at least back to 1951, according to Hamad, when the first colloidal suspensions were made, but leaps in technology and production have been made over the last five years.

In 2006, a company called FPInnovations set up a pilot plant, with a daily output of 2 kg. In 2010, CelluForce and Domtar set up a joint venture with FPInnovations, and are working on a facility in Windsor, ON that is planned to have 1 ton/day of production when it starts up in January 2012.

MRC