Imports of polypropylene to Belarus decreased by 5.1% in the first ten months of the year

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polypropylene (PP) to Belarus decreased by 5.1% in the first ten months of the year, compared with the same period in 2012, according to MRC DataScope.

PP imports to Belarus was about 7,100 tonnes in October, up by 4% from September. Nevertheless, total PP imports to Belarus fell to 67,200 tonnes in the first ten months of the year, compared with 70,900 tonnes in the same period in 2012.

Structure of PP imports to Belarus over the reported period was is as follows. October imports of homopolymer PP to Belarus was 5,100 tonnes, from 4,800 tonnes in September. Total imports of homopolymer PP to Belarus in the ten months of this year decreased to 50,000 tonnes, from 52,800 tonnes year on year.

Main importers of homopolymer PP to Belarus were Russian producers. Imports of Russian homopolymer PP over the reported period was 26,700 tonnes.

The second and third places took importers from Poland and Germany with 5,600 tonnes and 4,600 tonnes respectively.

October imports of propylene copolymers remained in the level of September at about 2,000 tonnes. Imports of propylene copolymers to Belarus increased to 18,300 tonnes in the first ten months of the year, compared with 18,000 tonnes year on year. The main importer of propylene copolymers to Belarus were producers from Germany with 12,600 tonnes in the first ten months of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Production of PET chips in Russia decreased by 9% to 377,300 tonnes in the first eleven months of the year, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to MRC ScanPlast.

November was no exception in the chain of shutdowns at Russian PET productions, which had begun in August 2013. Senege did not produce PET in November. Alco-Naphtha shut it PET production on 11 November.
At the same time, Russia's production of PET increased by 8% to 23,600 tonnes in November, from the October level. Production rates at Russian plants remained very low despite a slight increase in November compared with October level. According to MRC average capacity utilisation of Russia's PET production in November was 54.5%.

Alco-Naphtha and Senege resumed their PET production in the first half of December, following scheduled shutdowns for maintenance works and force majeure respectively.
MRC

MOSOCW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation, the US chemicals producer founded by Jon Huntsman Sr., and Rockwood Holdings, Inc. has announced completion of an important milestone in Huntsman’s pending acquisition of Rockwood’s Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) businesses, reported Huntsman on its site.

The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 has expired. Therefore, the antitrust review in the United States is now complete. The company continues to work through the regulatory process in the European Union.

As previously disclosed, Huntsman anticipates closing the transaction with Rockwood in the first half of 2014.

As MRC wrote earlier, Moody's Investors Service has lifted its outlook on Huntsman Corp., noting improvements across the chemical maker's main product lines. Moody's backed Huntsman's corporate family rating at Ba3, three notches into junk territory. The outlook was raised to positive, from stable.

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. The company's operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), the world's leading vertically integrated Polyester Value Chain producer, has successfully completed the refinancing of a USD640 million term loan for its business in the USA, said Plastemart.

The Company was able to increase the average tenor of this loan from 3.31 to 5.40 years from a consortium of banks led by Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited, Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited and Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited. Moreover, the Company has refinanced a working capital facility led by Regions Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch totalling USD360 million.

The term loan and working capital facilities are expected to improve the liquidity and cash management of the Company's North American businesses by combining their treasury needs. The longer term loan tenor will also benefit the internal cash flows required for the Company's committed growth capital expenditures. Indorama Ventures has approximately a third share in North American PET market with approximately 1.5 mln tons of capacity and produces a range of products within the Polyester Value Chain sphere, such as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyester and Polyolefin Fibers and Yarns, Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) and Purified Ethylene Oxide (PEO).

As MRC wrote before, Indorama Ventures is going to expand the PET polymers production capacity in the USA by setting up a new plant with a capacity of 540,000 tonnes per year. This expansion, which is expected to be completed in Q4 2015 will take IVL"s total capacity in North America of PET polymers up to 2,100,000 tonnes per annum.

Indorama Ventures is a leading producer in the polyester value chain in Thailand with strong global network and manufacturing across Asia, Europe and North America. Its products serve major players in diversified end use markets, including food, beverages, personal and home care, health care, automotives, textile, and industrial. The company"s main products are PTA, PET and polyester fibre, which are distributed across the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China XD Plastics Company Limited, one of China's leading specialty chemical players engaged in the development, manufacture, and sale of polymer composites primarily for automotive applications, announced it broke ground on a 300,000 tons polymer composites production and R&D project in Southwest China that would expand production capacity by 300,000 metric tons and equipped with a professional research and development center and an independent training center, said Plastemart.

China XD's southwest expansion project is situated in an area of 3,230,000 square feet in Nanchong City, Sichuan province, the hub of the economic circle in Chengdu and Chongqing. Within a 500-kilometer radius of the construction site, there are factories for automotive manufacturers such as First Automobile Group, Shanghai GM, Volvo, Changan Ford and Dongfeng, etc.

The region is also home to industries of high-end applications that the Company has been pursuing, including China Southern Rail Corporation ("CSR") and China Northern Rail Corporation ("CNR") in the high-speed railway sector, and Xi'an Aircraft Industry (Group) Company Limited, Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company Limited and Guizhou Aviation Industry (Group) Company Limited, etc. The mayor and municipal party secretary of Nanchong City joined the groundbreaking ceremony, marking the official commencement of the project in the southwest.

As MRC wrote before, German plastics machinery maker KraussMaffei (KM, Munich) will start producing and supplying injection moulding machines from its plants in Haiyan, China, in the spring of 2014. Production at the plant has recently doubled. One of the first machines to be supplied completely from Haiyan will be an MX 1300-8100 for Yanfeng USA Automotive Trim System (Harrison Township, Missouri).
MRC