Plastics Industry Association begins search for new president, CEO

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Washington-based Plastics Industry Association has hired an executive search firm to help it find a new president and CEO to replace Bill Carteaux, its former leader who died of leukemia in December, as per Canplastics.

In a statement, the Washington, D.C.-based Plastics Industry Association – or PLASTICS for short – has said it has engaged the firm of Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., which is headquartered in Chicago, to lead the search for its next leader, and that Heidrick & Struggles "are working to develop a rigorous and in-depth protocol that will be used in the search and selection" of the right individual.

Since Carteaux’s death on Dec. 10, PLASTICS has been led by Interim president and CEO Patty Long, who had been the association’s second-ranking executive.
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Clariant increased sales, profitability and operating cash flow in 2018

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Specialty chemical maker Clariant announced full year 2018 sales of CHF 6.6 billion (Cdn8.7 billion) compared to CHF 6.3 billion in 2017, which represents a 5% growth driven by higher sales in all business areas, as per Canplastics.

In a statement, Swiss-based Clariant – which reports in Swiss francs (CHF) – said that sales in Latin America grew the strongest, by 12%. "Sales in Asia increased by 7%, bolstered by a particularly positive development in China and India,” Clariant said. “In North America, sales rose by 5%. Both Europe and the Middle East and Africa increased sales by 2%. The absolute profitability improvement was attributable to the positive contributions from Care Chemicals, and Catalysis. In Plastics & Coatings, sales rose by 1% in local currency with particularly strong regional expansion in Latin America."

In the fourth quarter of 2018, meanwhile, Clariant’s sales rose by 3% in local currency to CHF 1.629 billion (CdnD2.1 billion). "This represents a decrease of 3% in Swiss francs year-on-year due to unfavorable currency fluctuations. The sales growth in local currency was mainly driven by Catalysis and Natural Resources,” Clariant said. “Sales in Plastics & Coatings were 3% lower in local currency due to the softening demand in Asia and Europe in particular."

Almost all regions contributed to Clariant’s Q4 2018 growth. "In the Middle East & Africa, sales in local currency grew by a robust 15% driven mainly by Catalysis,” Clariant said. “Sales in Latin America increased by 9% in local currency supported by Oil & Mining Services, in North America by a solid 3% and in Asia by 2 % with a slowing in China. Only sales in Europe had a negative growth of 2% largely due to the particularly challenging comparison base."
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Trafigura halts oil trade with Venezuela

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global commodities firm Trafigura has decided to stop trading oil with Venezuela due to US sanctions on the OPEC nation’s energy sector, reported Reuters with reference to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

The decision will come as a blow to Caracas as Swiss-based Trafigura has a long-standing arrangement with state-run PDVSA to take Venezuelan crude and, in exchange, supply the Latin American country with refined products.

Washington imposed fresh sanctions on PDVSA last month to cut off a key source of revenue for President Nicolas Maduro. The move came after Congress head Juan Guaido invoked constitutional provisions to become interim president, arguing that socialist Maduro’s re-election last year was a sham.

Last year, trading company Trafigura directly took 34,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude and products, which were mostly resold to US and Chinese refineries, according to internal PDVSA trade documents seen by Reuters.

Trafigura will stop business with PDVSA after completing a small number of already-concluded trades, the source said.

Due to the size of Venezuela’s oil-for-loan agreements with China and Russia and the weight of previous U.S. sanctions, cash-strapped PDVSA has become increasingly reliant on intermediaries to export its crude and import refined products.

PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trafigura is due to load two cargoes of Venezuelan crude before the end of February, the source with direct knowledge and a shipping source said.

It was not immediately clear whether these two tankers were the last of the already-concluded trades, or how many - if any - product tankers would be sent in return.

For the trading firm, the decision means giving up a source of crude supply for Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy, in which Trafigura holds a near 25 percent stake.

Nayara would still be able to buy Venezuelan crude through Russia’s Rosneft and other intermediaries.

The US sanctions limit US refiners to paying for Venezuelan oil by using escrow accounts that cannot be accessed by Maduro’s government. Foreign firms that use the US financial system for oil trading or US. units are similarly restricted, cutting off avenues for PDVSA to collect revenue.

In an effort to ease domestic fuel shortages, PDVSA’s imports skyrocketed last year. Its own refining system is hobbled by a technical failure, a lack of investment, delayed maintenance and insufficient crude supply.

In the last three months of 2018, Venezuela exported about 1.45 million bpd of crude and products. Trading houses lifted 225,000 bpd of that, according to the PDVSA documents and Refinitiv Eikon data.

Exports to the United States, Venezuela’s primary export customer, have since dried up, as well as those to other destinations, with loaded tankers left stranded off Venezuelan ports.
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PolyOne appoints Bindner to head performance products business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has announced that Robert Bindner is being promoted to the position of President of Performance Products & Solutions (PP&S), said the producer on its site.

He replaces Don Wiseman who is taking a leadership opportunity with another company.

Mr. Bindner joined PolyOne's predecessor company BF Goodrich in 1988 and thereafter ascended in his career through various sales and commercial roles of increasing responsibility - in PP&S; Color, Additives & Inks; and Distribution. For two years he served as Vice President of Asia, where he helped to improve collaboration among PolyOne businesses and functions, thus accelerating growth in the region that continues today. Most recently he served as Vice President and General Manager for Color and Additives in the Americas.

"Rob is a proven and inspirational leader whose career at PolyOne has been defined by his ability to lead teams that serve customers with excellence," said Robert M. Patterson, Chairman, President and CEO, PolyOne Corporation. "He has played an instrumental role in the transformation of our Color segment, and I am excited to have him now lead PP&S."

Mr. Patterson added, "I'd also like to thank Don for his time and contributions at PolyOne, as he helped to build our PP&S team and further refine the segment's strategy toward specialty. We wish him all the best in his new role outside of PolyOne."

As MRC wrote before, in January 2018, PolyOne Corporation announced the acquisition of IQAP Masterbatch Group S.L., a privately owned and innovative provider of specialty colorants and additives based in Spain with customers throughout Europe.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2018 revenues of USD3.5 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
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Pakistan expects 8 investment deals during the visit of Saudi prince

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia will announce eight investment agreements during a visit to Pakistan by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, officials said, a trip that is expected to set the seal on growing closeness between the historic allies, reported Reuters on Wednesday.

The investment is welcome in Pakistan, which is facing sharply slowing economic growth this year, a ballooning budget deficit and foreign currency reserves dwindling to less than USD8 billion or two months’ of imports.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is looking to diversify its economy beyond oil exports and also needs allies in the aftermath of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

While Islamabad has begun talks over a possible bailout with the International Monetary Fund, it has already won USD6 billion in badly needed loans and credit arrangements from Saudi Arabia to prevent a balance of payments crisis.

"Saudi Arabia always supported us in these tough times," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a news conference in Islamabad.

The government is also looking for new sources of investment alongside the mammoth USD60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure project with Beijing.

Total Saudi investments could reach USD20 billion over the next few years, the Board of Investment said in a statement, without providing any detailed breakdown.

Eight memoranda of understanding are expected to be signed during Prince Mohammad’s visit this weekend after plans were announced last month for a USD10 billion oil refinery in Gwadar where China is building a deepwater port as part of its Belt and Road initiative.

"We would like this economic corridor that is being built and Gwadar to become a hub of trade, energy and economic activity," Qureshi said.

Saudi Arabia is also interested in buying two liquefied natural gas-based power plants at Haveli Bahadur Shah and Bhikki which the government is looking to sell as part of a privatization drive, he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was among a handful of world leaders who attended Riyadh’s flagship investment conference in October, which was shunned by many companies and governments in protest at Khashoggi’s murder.

Pakistani newspapers have reported in awe-struck tones on preparations for Prince Mohammad’s two-day visit, during which he will be accompanied by a 1,000-strong entourage and five truckloads of effects including his personal gym equipment.

Qureshi rejected suggestions that Pakistan had promised its support for the Saudi-backed coalition waging war in Yemen against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

“There is no such conditionality, there is no attempt to push Pakistan into Yemen,” he said.
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