Moody affirmed the rating of China at Aa3, outlook lowered to "stable"

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Moody's Investors Service, the international rating agency, has changed China's outlook to stable from positive, reported the agency on its site.

Meantime, the rating agency affirmed China's government's bond rating of Aa3. The main reasons for this were a strong economic growth of the country, strong central government finances and an exceptionally strong external payments position.

However, the pace of China's economic growth was lower than expected. Besides, the positive reforms, conducted by the new leadership, will require a longer time, and the desired outcomes for the country's rating improving will be visible not earlier than after 12-18 months.

Thus, in the near future, the agency has no plans to increase the rating of China's economy.

"Underpinning China's credit fundamentals is the country's continued robust economic growth against a background of low inflation," - pointed out Moody's experts.

According to their estimates,China's real GDP will grow 7.5-8.0% in 2013 and 2014. Beyond this period, Moody's considers that urbanization and productivity gains will likely support growth in the 6-7% range through the rest of this decade.

As MRC wrote earlier, another international rating agency Fitch Ratings has recently downgraded China's credit rating from "AA-" to "A+". Fitch explained the decline in the country's bond rating by "deep-seated structural problems", including low income, inadequate governance and growing overcrediting.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The excess supply and low seasonal demand for polypropylene (PP) in Russia have resulted in price cuts by Rb2,000-3,000/tonne from the beginning of the year. Previously the price of polypropylene in the spring, on the contrary, grew, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Buying activity in PP market is low. In addition, PP prices were affected by substantial imports (more than 60 mln tonnes in Q1 2013, up 16% from Q1 2012) and the launch of a new 180,000 tonnes/year PP production by Polyom (Titan Group) in February.

If in the mid-January the price of PP in the Russian market was at Rb62,000-64,500 /tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, for raffia, and Rb63,500-65,500/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, for PP injection -homo, then by the middle of April due to the oversupply and low demand polypropylene prices had dropped to Rb60,000-61,500/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, and Rb61,500-63,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, respectively.

Part of the local converters continue to limit their purchases of polypropylene on weak demand for finished products in the key sectors of consumption, in particular, the construction and agriculture, and also are waiting for further price reductions.

Other converters in April have increased their purchases of PP on rising demand for their products, but also keep the volume of purchases under the current needs.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co., (SAFCO) an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp., posted an 18%increase in first-quarter profit, missing analysts’ estimates, said Businessweek.

Net income of the company also known as Safco climbed to 932 million riyals (USD249 million) from 787 million riyals a year earlier, the Jubail, Saudi Arabia-based company said in a statement. The mean estimate of 10 analysts was for profit of 992 million riyals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The company’s net income decreased 19% from the fourth quarter as maintenance work at one of the plants affected sales and ammonia prices fell, the company said. Saudi Basic Industries, the world’s biggest petrochemicals maker by market value, known as Sabic (SABIC), owns 43% of Safco.

Safco is the third associate company of Sabic to report first-quarter results. Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. (KAYAN)’s loss widened to 155 million riyals from 71 million riyals, missing analysts’ estimates. Yanbu National Petrochemical Co. posted a 7.4% decline first-quarter profit.

Sabic may report first-quarter results on April 16, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Quarterly profit is set to decline 10 %, the data show.

As MRC wrote earlier, SABIC subsidiary SAFCO has appointed Saipem as its E&C contractor for its expansion project. Saipem was awarded the Safco (Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company), lump sum turnkey contract for the project "Safco V". The contract encompasses the fifth expansion of the industrial complex of Al-Jubail, by the development of a new urea plant located approximately 100 kilometres north of Dammam, on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Recticel Limited (UK) announced its intention to streamline its Flexible Foams converting activities in the United Kingdom, resulting in the potential closure of its foam converting factory in Nelson (Lancashire) before the end of Q3/2013, said Recticel.

The activities of this site are under consideration for integration into the conversion capacities at the converting unit in Alfreton (Midlands).

All 95 employees at the site have been put under risk of redundancy. During the consultation period, which will start soon, the Group is committed to search together with employee representatives for the most appropriate social support measures, including mobility to other Recticel UK Flexible Foams’ plants. The Flexible Foams’ activity employs 485 people in the United Kingdom.

The costs will be charged to the first half year of 2013.

The company, which makes interiors for cars as well as bedding and mattresses, said it could move some of the workers to other factories in the country.

As MRC wrote earlier, Recticel (Brussels) in mid-2012 closed its comfort foam converting plant in Bladel, Netherlands.
At the end of 2011, the Belgian PU foam specialist had shut down its foam converting plant in North Shields/UK.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas has awarded Air Products an LNG heat exchanger order for a major LNG project in Malaysia, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Air Products' SplitMR liquefaction process and technology was selected and will be supplied to the Petronas LNG Train 9 Project. This project will produce 3.6 million tpy of LNG and is an expansion of the existing Petronas LNG complex in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Overall, Air Products' LNG technology and equipment is currently employed in the facility's eight existing production trains designed to produce 25.7 million tpy of LNG. Production of LNG will increase to 29.3 million tpy via the additional ninth train with Air Products involvement at the Bintulu facility, targeted for startup by the end of 2015.

As MRC informed previously, in early 2013, Petronas and BASF scrapped a proposed joint venture to develop a specialty chemicals production facility in Malaysia. Earlier, in October, 2012, Petronas announced that it was planning to terminate its vinyl business to help optimise its portfolio. The company's vinyl business are formed by three plants located in the Kerteh integrated petrochemical complex, Malaysia, and a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Vung Tau, Vietnam.

Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) is the leading integrated chemicals producer in Malaysia and one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Company is involved primarily in manufacturing, marketing and selling a diversified range of chemical products, including olefins, polymers, fertilisers, methanol and other basic chemicals and derivative products.
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