SIBUR acquires a 17.5% stake in POLIEF from Republic of Bashkortostan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Blagoveshchensk (Republic of Bashkortostan), 25 December 2015. At the auction held on 22 December 2015, SIBUR acquired a 17.5% stake in AO POLIEF from the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan, said the producer on its site.

The auction to sell POLIEF's 582.63 thousand ordinary shares was arranged by the Ministry of Land and Property Relations of Bashkortostan, which had been managing the stake. SIBUR's offering of RUB 500.11 m for the shares was the winning bid.

The acquisition of a 17.5% stake became the final step for SIBUR to consolidate 100% of POLIEF's share capital.

"We would like to express our gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan for the fruitful multi-year cooperation, which resulted in a creation of a modern energy efficient production and new jobs. Historically, our partnership assumed new feedstock supply agreements enabling integration of oil refinery and petrochemical industries in the region and investments in PET capacity expansion. These goals were achieved: capacity expanded and production flows streamlined. In that context the decision of the Bashkortostan’s authorities to sell its stake is reasonable. SIBUR gaining 100% control over POLIEF will continue investing in the facility, environmental, health and safety initiatives, despite challenging situation on the PET domestic market," said Pavel Lyakhovich, Managing Director of SIBUR's Plastics and Organic Synthesis Division.

As MRC reported before, in December 2015, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), completed its 10-percent minority investment in Russian petrochemical company SIBUR to serve as a strategic investor. SIBUR said the investment also could improve the market position of both companies, as well as "the strategic cooperation between China and Russia."

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. We own and operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.
MRC

Hanwha Total Petrochemical expands EVA market share - moves up to No. 1 position

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea-based Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co. is expanding its business into the global high value-added ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) market by commercial production using the tubular reactor polymerization process for the first time in the world, and investing in facilities, including the expansion of the second EVA plant, as per BusinessKorea.

Hanwha Total has established EVA production facilities of 320,000 tpa. The company expects to turn over 1.5 trillion won (USD1.28 billion) in solar EVA products alone in the next five years.

The company achieved a 35% share in the global solar encapsulment EVA market amounting to 350,000 tons, being ranked first.

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2015, Hanwha Chemical merged two of its chemical compounds businesses - Hanwha Next and Hanwha Compound. The combined entity, named Hanwha Compound, will produce polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The company will operate manufacturing plants in Yeosu and Suncheon, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons. The company expects the merger to improve management efficiency across its petrochemical affiliates and related businesses.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
MRC

Evonik invested over EUR400 mln in its plants in Germany in 2015

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Essen-based Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer, invested over EUR400 mln in its plants in Germany in 2015, said the producer in its press release.

Last year, Evonik once again demonstrated its considerable power to create at its German sites. Thus, according to a recent projection, the company invested more than EUR 400 million in its domestic production plants. The lion’s share of the funds (around two-thirds) was divided among Evonik’s five-largest sites in Germany: Marl (hundreds of millions of euros), Hanau, Essen, Darmstadt, and Wesseling (tens of millions of euros at each site).

"By investing in growth and modernization in Germany, we are strengthening our foothold in important markets of the future," stressed Klaus Engel, Chairman of Evonik’s Executive Board. "Favorable conditions for investment are by no means a given. I would like to see greater understanding among policy-makers for the necessary competitiveness of our industry, entailing, for example, improvements in the transportation infrastructure, the transition to renewable energy sources, and the expansion of digital networks."

Evonik is planning further large-scale projects in Germany. One of these is the construction of a new plant for production of specialty copolyesters in Witten by 2018 with an investment in the double-digit million euro range. As part of the global production initiative for specialty silicones, Evonik intends to invest in production for these products in Essen once again. A new silane research center is currently being built in Rheinfelden that is slated to be completed in 2016.

As MRC wrote previously, in Marl, Evonik’s largest site worldwide with a workforce of close to 7,000, a production facility for C4-based raw materials was completed in 2015. In Essen, the company put a new manufacturing plant for polymeric dispersants into operation and expanded a plant in which specialty silicones are produced.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC

MRC team wishes Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dear readers of MRC!

On this Christmas, the team of MRC wishes everyone happiness and prosperity in the personal and professional life.

Thank you for staying with us in 2015. It has been a pleasure helping you reach your goals, and we look forward to serving you again in the new year.

During this year, we provided reliable analytics on any changes of the polymers market in the CIS countries. We want to take a chance on this so special time to give all our readers and clients the respective thanks for your preference and trust.

We wish you a wonderful new year filled with abundance, joy, and treasured moments. We hope 2016 is a year of great happiness and success for you.

Best wishes,
MRC staff.


We will be back from holidays on 4, January, 2016.

MRC

Alok inaugurates technology centre in New Delhi

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Alok, formerly, Alok Masterbatches, one of the leading manufacturers of masterbatches (additive used to give colour or impart other properties to plastic products), has inaugurated a technology centre, Alok Technology Incubation Centre (ATIC), in New Delhi, as per Business Standard.

The ATIC Lab provides a wide array of testing equipment required to drive innovation in the masterbatch industry. ATIC brings a new standard for creating customised and need-based specialty masterbatches.

Vikram Bhadauria, Director Alok, commented, "Affordable solutions do not equate with cutting costs or compromising on quality. It is through innovation and use of technology that we can customise solutions for a better world. People are moving away from low-cost solutions to value based solutions that look at safety and sustainability. We are better positioned than ever before to play a significant part in this journey."

ATIC will be accessible to all customers and suppliers of Alok and the academia - the guiding philosophy behind setting ATIC is to co-create solutions that allow plastics to be safer, sustainable and affordable. Amit Puri, director of international sales and marketing at Alok, said, "ATIC is an opportunity to create novel solutions that address real life needs of our customers. The centre also welcomes academia and students focussing on polymer studies to use ATIC and challenge the status quo. Alok has committed its seasoned workforce and lab technicians to support these ideas." While ATIC is a significant investment, the team is positive about creating breakthroughs in polymer industry in the coming years.

With four plants in India and one in Paraguay (South America), Alok has one of the largest additive masterbatch portfolio and the widest range of filler masterbatches. Alok’s industry leading solutions and innovations such as anti-microbial applications, insect control, x-ray detectable plastics continue to contribute to the growing needs of the plastic industry.

We also remind that, as MRC reported earlier, another world's petrochemical major - Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals - strengthened its footprint in India by investing CHF 10 million in a new Healthcare Packaging manufacturing plant in Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu State, located about 25 km from the city of Puducherry. The plant will manufacture Clariant's market-leading moisture control products to support the growing pharmaceutical packaging market in India.
MRC