PE prices in Russia keep up growing in June

At the same time, in the market of some types of polyethylene in Europe lowering of prices on EUR 10/mt was observed as the situation with supply improved. In Asian market PE prices continue to decrease due to uncertainty in global stock market and falling ethylene prices. The decrease in Asia formed average USD 20-40/mt.

MRC

For more detailed information about PE market in Russia please refer to MRC Price reports.

(plastemart) -- South Korea's leading ethylene maker Yeochun NCC Co. is mull augmenting capacity by 350,000 tons at its No. 2 naphtha cracker. With this, total capacity will rise to 920,000 tpa in 2012.

MRC

(European Plastics) -- German automotive components group ContiTech Fluid Technology is now producing blow moulded plastic charge air ducts in-house at its plant at Waltershausen, in the German state of Thuringia.

"This allows us to boost our share of the value added chain and combine our market leadership in elastomer charge air hoses with a forward-looking technology that has a considerable edge over metal in terms of weight and cost," said ContiTech Fluid Technology general manager, Gunter Frolich.

Frolich said that having its own production capability would also enable it to provide an improved product development service to its automotive OEM customers.

MRC

MOSCOW (SIBUR) -- SIBUR and a group of lenders, whose interests are represented by A1 (investment division of "Alfa-Group"), reached agreements on the further development of "Amtel" tire holding.

The group of lenders represented by A1 shall assign its rights of demand with regard to "Amtel" Group's companies to SIBUR. SIBUR shall become the principal lender of the "Amtel" Group and such capacity start to participate more actively in optimization of financial and economic position of "Amtel" companies.

As the parties believe, these agreements perfectly meet the objectives of "Amtel" lenders, who want to prevent from division of the companies' property complex and to active growth of the Group. The deal is to be closed before the end of June 2010.

MRC

MRC Reference

Sibur Holding is the largest Russian petrochemical group.

Shareholders:
Gazprombank (70% minus 1 share);
Gazfond (25% plus 1 share);
5% reserved for option program.

(WallStreet Jurnal) -- Despite the sometimes-rancorous bankruptcy case of chemical giant LyondellBasell, Andreas Heeschen, whose ProChemie Holding took a 50% stake in the company during its restructuring, has only good things to say about the U.S. bankruptcy system.

⌠To go in and save such an internationally diversified company, it's impressive, he said in a meeting Wednesday at Dow Jones's offices in Manhattan. ⌠That the management team and the creditor groups could interact in such a way┘it's thanks to the bankruptcy system in this country.

Heeschen had his last day on the company's board on Wednesday, when new investors took over at LyondellBasell, which emerged from bankruptcy in late April. The company, which operates 59 manufacturing facilities in 18 countries, filed for Chapter 11 protection in January 2009. Its bankruptcy plan cuts the company's funded debt to about $5 billion from $24 billion.

MRCMRC Reference

LyondellBasell. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PE - 1.4% (including HDPE - 2.5%, LDPE - 0.3%);
PP - 4.1% (including block-copolymers - 9.5%).

Annual sales growth in Russia, during the recent 5 years:
PE - 27%;
PP - 88%.

The leader in the following polymers processing technologies:

pipe extrusion;

film extrusion;

injection molding.