Asia top stories

ICIS Editorial

07-Aug-2023

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News Asia and the Middle East for the week ended 4 August 2023.

NE Asia ethylene gains but spread to naphtha remains weak By Yeow Pei Lin 04-Aug-23 11:57 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Northeast Asia’s ethylene prices rose for a fourth straight week though production margins remained weak as sellers faced difficulty in adequately reflecting the strong feedstock naphtha costs in a well-supplied market.

INSIGHT: NE Asia C3 sees signs of revival By Julia Tan 03-Aug-23 12:00 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asia propylene markets are seeing a revival after a challenging second quarter, supported in part by upstream gains and tight supply.

PODCAST: SE Asia, India PVC demand picks up in July, some supply cuts expected in Q3 By Damini Dabholkar 02-Aug-23 22:09 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Southeast Asia and India’s polyvinyl chloride (PVC) markets are seeing better demand in Q3, amid supply shortages in northeast Asia and the US.

PODCAST: Asia PET, R-PET see contrasting demand-supply dynamics, China bucks global trend By Damini Dabholkar 02-Aug-23 21:37 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asia’s recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) market continued to see weak demand and ample supply. On the other hand, virgin PET saw some restocking, even as supply grew on account of new capacities. China’s demand was healthy in August with several producers already sold out.

INSIGHT: Pakistan, Saudi Aramco signs MoU for $10bn refinery, petrochemicals project By Nurluqman Suratman 02-Aug-23 19:07SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Four Pakistan government-backed oil and gas firms have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Aramco for a new $10bn greenfield refinery and petrochemicals project at Gwadar Port, potentially paving the way to slash the country’s massive energy imports.

INSIGHT: Commercial start-up of Vietnam petrochemical complex delayed amid weak global demand By Pearl Bantillo 02-Aug-23 18:57 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SCG) expects mechanical completion and commissioning of Vietnam’s first cracker in August to September, pushing back the full commercial start-up of the Long Son Petrochemical project to the second half of the year amid oversupply concerns in Asia.

INSIGHT: China PE imports shrank in H1 on imbalanced fundamentals By Joanne Wang 01-Aug-23 21:19 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China’s polyethylene (PE) imports decreased by 2.3% year on year in in H1 2023 on rising domestic supply and weak demand, according to ICIS data.

OUTLOOK: China MMA market in weak balance, players focus on export opportunities By Yi Liang 01-Aug-23 16:55 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–In the first half of 2023, China’s methyl methacrylate (MMA) supply rose, but demand was impacted by weakness in related downstream industries. In the second half of the year, producers are expected to continue seeking export opportunities.

OUTLOOK: Bulk arrivals, slow demand to weigh on UAE’s Q3 base oil demand By Veena Pathare 31-Jul-23 13:35 SINGAPORE (ICIS)–A mixed trend in base oils demand in the UAE is likely to emerge in H2 2023, following diverging demand and supply trends across different product grades.

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