Largest LANXESS investment in China

(LANXESS) -- German specialty chemicals group LANXESS has taken another step on its expansion course in China. The company will invest about EUR 30 million in a plant for leather chemicals to be built in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, China. This is the single largest investment by the company's Leather Chemicals business unit to date in China. Approximately 150 new jobs will be created through this investment.

The facility, with an annual capacity of up to 50,000 metric tons, will be located at the Changzhou Yangtze Riverside Industrial Park. It is planned to go on stream by the first half of 2013 and will produce premium LANXESS leather chemicals for the local Chinese market such as Tanigan, Isoderm, Euderm and Levotan for various applications like leather tanning, dyeing and finishing.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 5.06 billion in 2009 and currently around 14,500 employees in 23 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.

MRC

(ICIS) -- US propylene contracts for December were fully settled at an increase of 3.00 cents/lb ($66/tonne, ┬50/tonne), market sources said on Wednesday, lifted by tight supply following a series of cracker and refinery outages.

The 5% increase from November puts chemical-grade propylene (CGP) contracts in December at 59.00 cents/lb and polymer-grade propylene (PGP) at 60.50 cents/lb, as assessed by ICIS.

US propylene producers had originally nominated increases of 3.00 and 3.50 cents/lb for this month. A full-market agreement at plus 3.00 cents/lb was widely expected, even though one producer at first had not agreed to the increase and was holding out for a higher price.

Limited supply and rising refinery-grade propylene (RGP) spot prices in November were among the factors supporting higher contract prices in December, according to sources.

Major US producers of PGP and CGP include Chevron Phillips Chemical, Enterprise Products, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, Petrologistics and Shell Chemical. Main buyers include Dow Chemical, INEOS, Ascend Performance Materials and Total.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Petrochemical producers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region are cautiously optimistic about achieving good netbacks in 2011, they said on Thursday, supported by strong demand in emerging markets such as China, India and South America.

"While petrochemical demand in the developed world is not expected to grow at a spectacular pace, emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil are showing exponential demand growth, above GDP levels," said a senior executive with a leading Saudi Arabian petrochemical company.

The executive, who wished not to be identified, was speaking with ICIS on the sidelines of the 5th Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) forum being held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

GDP growth in China and India was expected to cross 9% and 8% respectively in 2010, and petrochemical demand growth was set to grow at an even higher pace, another GCC producer said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by the American Chemistry Council's chief economist, Kevin Swift, who said in New York this month that during the next two years, the most rapid growth would occur in the emerging nations, most notably in China, India and Brazil, while South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan would present good growth prospects through 2012.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Over the ten months the Russian converters invested about $83 mln in injection molding equipment which is 20% more than investments over whole 2009, according to MRC Annual reports.

In the structure of investments over the mentioned period about a quarter of all capital ($19 mln) was spent for increase in powers of molded packaging sector. Leaders among converters investing in molded packaging sector are iPlast (Nizhnekamsk) and Europlast (Solnechnogorsk).

Decreased investment activity in 2010 in comparison to last year is marked in the following processing sector: electrical goods (24%), household goods (10%).

The most considerable decrease in investment is marked in the sector of car components production where in 2010 almost $4 mln was spent for equipment which is 2,5 as little as in in 2009.

According to MRC analysts estimates, by the end of 2010 investment in injection molding equipment may exceed $85 mln, mostly at the expense of packaging sector development.

More detailed analysis of polymers processing and consumption volumes by sectors, markets and types of finished products for each converter is presented in the Annual reports by MRC.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Weakening of import polypropylene (PP) pressure suspended the reduction in polymers prices in the Russian market, according to MRC analysts.

Succession of summer shutdowns for scheduled maintenance of some Russian PP producers stipulated a considerable growth of imports volumes. Insufficient offer of the Russian raffia was compensated by the supplies from external markets. At the end of September the volumes of homo-polymer propylene imports grew up to record 15.9 KT, at that about 11.6 KT are PP supplies from Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

In October because of technological problems the volumes of PP production at Ufaorgsintez and Stavrolen (Lukoil Group) reduced. Also the imports supplies dropped. As a result, despite seasonal fall in demand, there was no surplus offer in the Russian market.

In November demand for PP kept on falling, many market players limited the purchases of polymers up to current needs. The Russian producers faced serious pressure of cheaper import PP, in particular, from Turkmenistan. By mid-month the prices for the Russian raffia were lowered on average by 1.500 RUB./t and were fixed within the range 57.500 - 59.000 RUB./t, including VAT, FCA.

By early December the pressure of import supplies from Turkmenistan weakened. Imports supplies from Turkmenistan were considerably reduced. Because of almost 2-week suspension of Linik, the terms of PP delivery from Ukraine were shifted. All these factors had an impact on the prices: November level of prices remained in December as well.

At the same time raffia consumers go on limiting the purchases volumes trying to reach a further decline in prices. On the contrary, there is a non-considerable deficit in the market of molded PP, connected with long absence of material supplies from some producers. The price offer for molded PP-homo is within a wide range: 59.500 - 62.000 RUB./t., including VAT, FCA.

MRC