PN China Blog - English: Materials Archives

India's Reliance marching west

India's largest private enterprise and a major commodity resin producer Reliance Industries Ltd. has lined up $10 billion to invest in Egypt, the company's largest overseas investment so far.

The package will include $1billion for an oil refinery and $7 billion for petrochemicals, according to India's English newspaper The Economic Times:

Reliance Industries proposes to take advantage of the heavy crude available in North Africa to process a range of oil products such as gasoline.
Heavy crude is usually difficult to process and requires a highly complex refinery. But it is cheaper than normal or sweet crude by about $5-5.5 per barrel. Reliance Industries uses a lot of heavy crude in its Jamnagar refinery.

Another newspaper, The Times of India, analyzed Reliance's overseas investment deployment and strategies, highlighting the target on the European and U.S. markets:

The Egyptian government estimates Indian investments in Egypt are worth $320 million. Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance group, has been importing and marketing Egyptian crude oil since 2001. Over the last few years Reliance is trying to expand its global footprint in the oil and gas business. It already has hydrocarbon assets in Oman, Yemen and East Timor. While it has oil assets in Yemen, in east Timor and Oman the company is dealing in gas.
Egypt too is becoming a big source of gas and this could have prompted Reliance to explore the option. Besides, it is strategically located with Europe and the entire African continent being a large potential market.
Reliance had earlier made investment announcements in Saudi Arabia and Yemen along with other Indian oil majors but the plans did not fructify. At home it is dealing with uncertainty on pricing for its gas finds in K-G basin and has had to alter its petroleum retailing plans due to large under-recoveries.
But the problems at home have not deterred it from trying to also find a way into the American continent. Company executives have talked of their intent to buy old refineries in the United States as well to get a toehold.

China is a significant export market for Reliance, accounting for about 65 percent of Reliance's business in polypropylene exports.

Reliance doesn't have production facilities in China right now.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on August 10, 2007 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dangerous plane part

I was running out of patience at the Ottawa airport yesterday afternoon, after the plane was taxiing for half an hour to the runway. Finally, the Embraer Emb 145 Jet geared up and started accelerating. Peng! With a strange sound, the gentleman sitting right in front of me grabbed his head by both hands. I couldn't believe my eyes, but the small panel above his seat apparently just fell down and struck the poor man's head, only still hanging to the plane through a couple tubes. Ouch! Fortunately, the gentleman said his head was fine after immediately using an ice pack except for a little headache.

I heard someone in the half-empty 50-seat plane say, "is that panel made of plastics? That's probably why it doesn't hurt as much [as metal]."

Good point! Maybe it'll even be safer with a layer of overmolded thermoplastic elastomer.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on September 20, 2007 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Plastic going to space

Now that aircraft makers are bringing in more-than-ever amount of plastic content into airplanes, consumers realize plastic is not just the material shopping bags are made out of.

Plastics is also making its way into spacecrafts, scientists said, and not just limited to interior parts. It can be used to arm spacecraft bodies and shield them from radiation, a job that can't be done by metals.

Experiments on the International Space Station have shown that plastics such as polyethylene provide good shielding. Plastics contain lots of hydrogen, which is good at absorbing cosmic rays.
Even if the whole spacecraft is not built from plastic, it could be used to shield key areas such as living quarters.

That's according to a recent BBC report. The article explained why metals wouldn't work:

"With this kind of radiation, you cannot simply shield the craft with heavy metal. It can actually make it worse, because when the cosmic rays hit the metal atoms, they can produce secondary particles."

But the best protecting material appears to be water, the article said.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on October 8, 2007 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Beijing unveils bubble-wrap aquatic center

China has officially opened its National Aquatics Center, nicknamed the "Water Cube" for its unique design.

The official Web site of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games said it took over four years to complete the construction. According to the press release:

The NAC's Games-time construction area is close to 80,000 square meters, containing 17,000 standard seats, including 6,000 permanent seats and 11,000 temporary ones. During the 2008 Olympic Games, it will produce 42 gold medals in swimming, diving and synchronized swimming.
...
On January 31, the NAC will host its first Good Luck Beijing sport event -- the 2008 Swimming China Open.

The iconic Olympics venue features a clear surface made out of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) plastic films. Officials said it's the first of its kind in China and the largest and most complicated membrane system in any single project in the world.

The Water Cube is also the only Olympic venue funded by $110 million in donations from ethnic Chinese living outside mainland China.

Plastics News has reported on the innovative use of plastic material in the Water Cube in a previous story Water Cube structure features ETFE foil membranes.

Photos courtesy of the Beijing Olympic Games official Web site.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on January 28, 2008 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Latest on China's PVC anti-dumping

Despite its abundant domestic PVC capacity, China still imports 150,000 to 160,000 metric tons of PVC paste resin (total value US$160 million to 170 million) annually.

China's State Council recently amended the tariff regulations so that PVC paste resin no longer shares the same tariff coding with general PVC powder. China Trade News commented that the change will "help with the healthy growth of domestic manufacturers of PVC paste resin."

China has been imposing anti-dumping charges on imported PVC powder since 2003. "But because general PVC powder was not distinguished from PVC paste resin, it was difficult for authorities and organizations to effectively monitor the pricing and trading of imported PVC powder; therefore, the industry couldn't accurately assess the effectiveness of the anti-dumping measures," the report said.

The tariff coding for general PVC power is 39041000 and the coding for PVC paste resin is 39041010.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on March 7, 2008 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Morgan Stanley and China's resin maker

According to China's financial newspaper 21st Century Economic Report, Morgan Stanley has finished a low profile transaction with Sichuan Huaton Industry Commerce Development Shareholding Co., which is said to be China's largest maker of polyphenylene sulfide resin (PPS).

The story said Morgan Stanley has helped Huaton finance US$200 million by issuing bonds to Morgan Stanley's equity management subsidiary. In addition, Morgan Stanley inked an agreement to buy less than 20 percent of Huaton's stake with US$80 million.

The China Engineering Plastic Industry Association confirmed that Huaton has larger capacity than the other two PPS manufacturers in China, both also located in Sichuan province.

Huaton's capacity will reach 35,400 metric tons by the time it finishes the ongoing expansion. China's demand for PPS, on the other hand, will top 70,000 metric tons by 2010, the report said.

Huaton also is considering going public outside of China. That certainly is something Morgan Stanley is looking forward to.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on March 31, 2008 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Blame US$ for resin prices

My colleague Frank Esposito's column Plastics demand Rx for resin headaches highlighted a few important facts: 1) resin price spikes, 2) weaker dollar, and 3) increased exports to Asia. He rightly attributed the growing exports to the weaker dollar. And I'm here drawing an additional line between the resin price hikes and the weaker dollar.

Yes, if you are looking for something to blame for the resin prices, don't forget the greenback.

Fundamentally, the depreciating dollar has fueled oil and natural gas prices, which impacts the production cost of derivative plastic materials. As former Federal Reserve economist David T. King pointed out in a Wall Street Journal article: "The collapse of the dollar exchange rate, alone, explains at least half of the increase in the pump price of gas over the past five years." Of course, the other half would be the supply/demand relationship. Detailed economic analysis is available is King's column.

From another perspective, based on the principles of nominal prices and relative prices, internationally traded commodities like plastic resin must reflect the value of the currency that stipulates the prices. When the dollar falls, prices -- including benchmark gold and commodities -- go up.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on June 18, 2008 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Finally! PN introduces China resin pricing

Plastics News and its partner CBI (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. are bringing global readers the latest resin pricing intelligence in the Chinese market from on the ground.

The China Price Monitor is supplied by CBI with up-to-date China market prices of polyolefin resins. It monitors supply/demand trends, imports and exports, plant closures and production outages. Readers will find the report rotate on a weekly basis between 1) high density polyethylene, 2) low density and linear low density polyethylene, and 3) polypropylene.

CBI has a professional team dedicated to the report, making about 200 calls to buyers and sellers in China each week for each issue. The CBI China Price Monitor, with brief commentary in both Chinese and English, offers open access to all readers.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on July 2, 2008 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gasoline first, plastic later

Refiner and petrochemical giant China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) has made gasoline production a priority over plastic resins in response to the long lines at gas stations across China.

The company told Dow Jones Newswire that it plans to cut production of naphtha and petrochemical products in July and at the same time increase diesel production.

Sinopec will continue to reduce ethylene production in July, by at least 12 percent.

On the flip side, two Sinopec ethylene lines in Maoming, Guangdong province, with combined capacity of 1 million metric tons, have resumed production, after a temporary closedown caused by a lightning strike June 3.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on July 9, 2008 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Asus laptops smell nice, thanks to nano resin

Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus is making headlines these days. In addition to its popular EeePC-branded ultraportable laptops and the "world's slimmest" 22-inch monitor it's rolling out, the company debuted its first series of fragrant laptops last week in Beijing.

The F6V series offers four different scents, including an "ocean-inspired water scent" and a "Chinese herbal ointment scent."

The company's design director Fu Huixin explained the technology to portal Web site 163.com: "We use nanotechnology to form resin and soak the resin in perfume compound, which becomes fragrant resin in about 24 hours. We then coat the material on the surface [of the casing]."

The company said the development process took about a year, but it wasn't able to comment on how long the scent will last. "We'll have the answer after some more testing," Fu said.

It's unclear whether these fragrant computers will be available for the U.S. consumers. But if they plan to do so, I'm not sure how the "Chinese herbal ointment" will work out in America. Perhaps replace it with a rich chocolate scent?

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on July 30, 2008 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

iPhone's plastic casing

Perhaps it's too early to draw a conclusion, but the popular Apple iPhone 3G may not be doing much to help change the "low-quality" image of plastic.

Owners are reporting tiny cracks on the plastic shell of the iPhone. In a discussion thread on the official Apple discussion forum, various users have reported such issues, especially with white units.

Another Mac-user online community is having a similar discussion, with a few user-generated photos just on the first page.

Although the iPhone 3G is not yet officially available in mainland China, fans are closely watching feedback from users in other regions. A popular Chinese information technology site published a collection of photos and commented that the quality of the plastic casing is cheaper than the metal casing used on first-generation iPhones.

One reader left a message, asking: "Is this a production problem in Apple's Chinese factories or Apple's unwise selection of materials?"

Some markets in Shanghai are selling smuggled iPhones with price tags of 8,800 yuan (US$1,289) for the 8G model and 9,700 yuan (US$1,421) for the 16G model, according to local newspaper Oriental Morning. Vendors claim that the pricing is reasonable, because the handsets are unlocked and without a contract. However, the 16-G model without a contract will cost just US$699 in the U.S.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on August 5, 2008 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Mitsui Chemicals adds compounding capacity worldwide

Tokyo-based Mitsui Chemicals Inc. told the Nikken Business Daily that the company is expanding the compounding capacity of its subsidiary in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, in China.

The company plans to invest 1 billion yen on compounding equipment and raise the capacity of polypropylene compounds in Zhongshan by 25 percent, bringing the site capacity to 50,000 metric tons annually.

The compounds are mainly used for automotive bumpers and interior trim.

The expansion will be completed by summer 2009. Mitsui Chemicals announced in April its plans to increase the compounding capacity in Zhongshan to 42,000 metric tons by the end of 2009. It seems like the plan has been revised, with a larger investment and an earlier deadline set for China.

In the same announcement, the company mentioned a series of PP compounding capacity increases around the globe. By the end of 2009, it will add:

6,000 metric tons of capacity in Sydney, Ohio;

17,000 metric tons in Nashville, Tennessee;

5,000 metric tons in Aguascalientes, Mexico;

27,000 metric tons in Bangkok, Thailand;

and 15,000 metric tons in New Delhi, India.

The Nikken report also said that Mitsui is investigating the possibility of adding a plant in Europe. The company currently has manufacturing sites in Stirlingshire, Scotland, and Bad Sobernheim, Germany.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on August 20, 2008 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China extends antidumping charges on U.S. PVC

China's Ministry of Commerce and the China Customs just announced separately that China will continue to impose anti-dumping charges on PVC powder imported from the United States, South Korea, Russia, Japan and Taiwan. A five-year term will take effect on September 29, 2008, when the previous five-year term will end.

The duty rates will remain the same, which means, with the exception of Formosa Plastics Co. USA (11 percent), all other U.S. exporters will be subject to 83 percent anti-dumping duties.

For further details, email me and get a copy of the Ministry of Commerce's official document in Chinese.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on September 26, 2008 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China's No.1 compounder debuts acquisition

Leading Chinese compounder Guangzhou Kingfa Sci & Tech Co. Ltd. has officially acquired a special engineering resin maker Mianyang Dongfang Special Engineering Plastics Co.

The deal was priced at less than 300 million yuan. No further details are available.

Kingfa has achieved rapid organic growth in the past three years, increasing sales by more than 30 percent annually. The October 1 acquisition marks the company's new expansion strategies as well as its determination of entering the market of specialized engineering resin.

Dongfang was founded in August 2003 with a registered capital of 60 million yuan. The company is currently the largest producer of anti-corrosion high density polyethylene that is used in buried steel pipelines and claims annual capacity of 32,000 metric tons, according to Kingfa's announcement.

Dongfang's major customers include refiner giants like Petro China, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).

As of the end of August, the Mianyang, Sichuan province-based company realized sales and net profit of 315 million yuan and 20.6 million yuan respectively.

Guangzhou-based Kingfa said it plans to acquire several more companies "with technologies or products that supplement Kingfa's business" in the next few years.

Posted by Nina Ying Sun on October 7, 2008 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)