Suntower Consulting Limited 1 - · PDF fileVerdezyne employs non-food feedstocks that are plant-based for the production of many commercial diacids through the yeast fermentation process

PU Industry Memorabilia in the Second Half of 2011

1. Polyurethane Hot News

BASF to Further Invest in Brazilian

Polyurethanes Business

BASF today announced that it will be investing

to expand its polyurethane (PU) systems and

specialties business in Brazil. The production

facilities for PU systems, polyols, TPU and

Cellasto® will be enlarged and established at

BASF’s Verbund site in Guaratinguetá. Also, a new development and technical service center will be

opened at BASF’s Demarchi site in order to create a world class facility to support the company's

customer and market development activities. Due to spacial restrictions these expansions cannot be

realized at the Mauá site.

"With this investment, BASF will secure the long term future of our Polyurethane business in

South America. It also underlines our leading position in the global polyurethanes market”, says

Wayne T. Smith, President of BASF’s polyurethanes division. “We will be in the position to better

serve our customers in the polyurethanes market in Brazil and to help make them more successful.”

Bayer Starts Up Shanghai TDI Plant

Bayer MaterialScience's (BMS) new toluene di-isocyanate

(TDI) plant in Caojing in Shanghai, China, has the flexibility to

run at reduced rates in line with market demand, CEO Patrick

Thomas said. The 250,000 tonne/year plant has reached

commercial production and the official inauguration will take

place on 16 November, he added.

The plant will be the first to use BMS's new gas-phase

phosgenation technology. "Our goal with this technology is to be

able to run at about 50% of full rate. Nobody has ever done that

before," Thomas said. "This means you can be far more responsive to market demand without

having to have multiple plants."

Normally, isocyanates plants have to be run at full rates because quality drops with a decline in

operating rate, he explained. The ability to run the new plant at reduced rates will give

Germany-headquartered BMS a commercial advantage at a time when TDI prices have dropped

because of new capacity coming on stream, Thomas added.

BorsodChem Inaugurates New TDI Plant

BorsodChem Zrt, the Hungarian subsidiary of Chinese Wanhua Industrial Group, has officially

inaugurated its new TDI plant at its site in Kazincbarcika in North-East Hungary. The new facility,

which is now in commercial operation, has a capacity of 160 kt/y. According to BorsodChem, this

Suntower Consulting Limited 1


positions the company as Europe’s leading toluene diisocyanate manufacturer.

The company invested more than EUR 200 million in the construction of the new facility. The

new plant has an annual nameplate capacity of 160 kt, which can be increased by another 40 kt to

200 kt/y depending on future demand. The facility, which utilises BorsodChem’s proprietary

technology, operates considerably more efficiently than the company's existing TDI-1 plant. Due to

the current unfavourable market environment, full utilisation of the new facility is only expected at a

later stage.

COIM Completes Asian Polyol Expansion

COIM Asia Pacific,, a fully owned

subsidiary of COIM SpA, global polyurethane

chemicals producer, announces it has

successfully completed the expansion of its

polyester polyols production unit located in

Singapore and also announces an investment

for the production of Low Fogging Polyester in

the same site.

"With this investment, COIM Asia Pacific will be the first polyester polyols producer with a low

fogging treatment plant in Asia" said Vipul Rastogi, General Manager of COIM Asia Pacific "and

further enhances our commitment to the customers in this region".

Low Fogging polyester polyols are mainly required in the automotive industry for the

manufacture of slabstock foam used in roof headliners, head rest, internal door panels and seats.

s Prices in Europe Huntsman to Increase MDI and MDI-Based System

The Polyurethanes division of Huntsman

Corporation announced that it will increase the price of

all its MDI products and MDI-based systems by €100

(euro)/tonne in the European region (Europe, Africa,

Middle East, Former Soviet Union) from 1st January

2012.

Nick Webster, Vice President, Europe for

Polyurethanes, said: "This price increase is necessary

to address continuing inflationary pressures and the

need to secure long-term reinvestment economics.”

Huntsman to Increase MDI Price in Asia Pacific

Shanghai, China – The Polyurethanes division of Huntsman Corporation (HUN:NYSE)

announced today that it will increase the price of all its MDI products by 200 USD /ton in the Asia

Pacific region (APAC) from 1st January 2012. Vincent Wang, Vice President, APAC for



Polyurethanes, said: "This price increase is necessary to address continuing inflationary pressures

and the need to secure long-term reinvestment economics.”

Perstorp in Thai Isocyanate Venture

Perstorp, Sweden - Perstorp and PTT Global

Chemical, Thailand’s largest chemical producer, plan to

launch a joint venture dedicated to the manufacturing

and sales of aromatic (TDI) and aliphatic (IPDI, HDI and

derivatives) isocyanates; serving the polyurethane

industry. The planned joint venture includes the former

Perstorp Business Group “Coating Additives” with its

manufacturing sites at Pont-de-Claix in France and

Freeport, TX. PTT Global Chemical will retain 51% of

the joint ventures shares and Perstorp 49%.

The joint venture plans to invest in new manufacturing capacities and facilities to capitalize on

the worldwide fast growing polyurethane market. In addition, the JV plans to invest further in

cutting-edge R&D as well as improving operations efficiency to strengthen competitiveness and

increase market offerings.

Shell Completes Project to Strengthen Flexibility of Polyol Production at Pernis,

Netherlands

Shell Chemicals has completed a project to strengthen the flexibility of its polyol production

facility in Europe. A direct result of this will be an immediate increase in CASE (coatings, adhesives,

sealants and elastomers) polyol capacity from the site at Pernis in the Netherlands.

Modifications made to both the plant and process technology are enabling CASE-grade

CARADOL polyols to be made on a continuous production line for the first time in Shell’s history. This

is providing a boost in capacity, designed to enable Shell’s Propylene Oxide and Derivatives (PODer)

business to respond quickly to increasing demand from customers across Europe.

Thai IRPC to Shut All Plants for Major Maintenance for

Thailand's IRPC Pcl plans to shut all of its plants for major

maintenance for 40 days from mid-November to late

December, as per Reuters. The company operates Southeast

Asia's biggest integrated petrochemical complex, and

schedules a major shutdown for maintenance every three

years. The petrochem major plans gradual shut down of each

of its plants by restarting operations at one to offset loss of

production at the closed ones. Also, no major impact is


40 days From Mid-November


expe

00-170,000 bpd in Q3. The petrochemical complex

has an annual capacity of about 924,000 tons.

cted on sales due to sufficient stockpiling by IRPC.

The plan that will effectively lead to an actual shutdown of 30 days, will reduce Q4 refining output

to an average of 140,000 bpd, down by 30,000 bpd from normal output levels for the

October-December period, and down from 160,0

Verdezyne Opens Pilot Plant for Production of Adipic Acid

Industrial biotechnology company, Verdezyne has launched its first pilot plant in Carlsbad

,

California for the commercial production of adipic acid, which is a primary component in nylon 6,6.

The plant will also produce thermoplastic polyurethane resins derived from renewable resources

like vegetable oils. Verdezyne employs non-food feedstocks that are plant-based for the production

of many commercial diacids through the yeast fermentation process. This method offers greater

advantages over traditional petroleum methods since they involve low production costs and generate

lesser CO2 emissions resulting in lesser pollution.

2. Leading Company Movements in 2011

BASF Faces Volume Growth Pressure and Declining

economic conditions, Bernstein Research said on

Thu

ped its target

.

ard of Executive

Dire

enior Vice

resident, Performance Chemicals North America, located in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Petrochemical Margins in 2012

German major BASF faces volume growth pressure and

declining petrochemical margins in 2012 because of

deteriorating

rsday.

Based on this outlook, Bernstein downgraded the company

to "market-perform" from "outperform" and drop

share price to EUR 56 (USD 80) from EUR 74

BASF Names New Head of Global PU

Ludwigshafen, Germany – December 16, 2011 – Raimar

Jahn (53), currently head of BASF’s Coatings division, will

become President of BASF’s Polyurethanes division, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium effective

March 1, 2012. He succeeds Wayne T. Smith who has been appointed to the Bo

ctors of BASF SE effective at the end of the Annual Meeting on April 27, 2012.

The Supervisory Board of BASF Coatings GmbH will be asked to appoint Dr. Markus Kamieth,

Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals North America, N-EVP, BASF Corporation, Florham

Park, as successor of Raimar Jahn effective March 1, 2012. Kamieth is currently S

P


Bayer Plans Further Expansion in Asia

The Bayer Group plans to further expand its production, distribution network and research


activities in Asia and considerably increase its sales in the region in the coming years. We aim to

achieve a more than 60 percent increase in our sales in Asia by 2015, Management Board Chairman

Dr. Marijn Dekkers said on Wednesday at Bayer’s international press conference Perspective on

Growth in Asia, held in Shanghai, China. This would mean annual sales of well over EUR 11 billion by

2015 at today's exchange rates. Of this figure, Greater China is planned to account for some EUR 6

billion. Dekkers officially inaugurated a new production facility for TDI–a raw material for the

production of flexible foams–at the Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai.

ls JV Between BASF, Total, Shell Change in Ownership Structure at Sabina Petrochemica

BASF Corporation and Total Petrochemicals USA, Inc.

have announced a change in ownership of the Sabina

Petrochemicals LLC joint venture that operates one of the

world's largest C4 complexes, located in Port Arthur, Texas.

With effect from August 1, 2011, Shell Chemical LP, will

exit the joint venture. As of this date, BASF and Total

Petrochemicals will be the sole partners in Sabina with 60:40

ownership shares. BASF will continue to operate the Sabina

plants. The terms of the agreement are confidential. "The

change in ownership of the Sabina joint venture marks a

milestone in its seven year history," said Heidi Alderman,

Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals, BASF Corporation.

"BASF and TPI remain firmly committed to the Port Arthur site and plan to continue to invest in the

site to optimize production capacity."

"This new structure provides a stronger partnership between TPI and BASF and allows us to

strengthen the synergies between the Total Port Arthur Refinery, the BFLP (BASF FINA

Petrochemicals Limited Partnership) and the C-4 Sabina operation," said Geoffroy Petit, Chief

Executive Officer, TPI Petrochemicals USA, Inc.

ign LOI to Strengthen Integration of Dow’s North American

tor in China and has

ann xpansion plans that would position it as the largest in the world.

Dow and Jilin Connell S

Polyurethanes Franchise

Dow Polyurethanes, a business group of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) and a

leading producer of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), today announced the signing of a Letter

of Intent (LOI) with Jilin Connell Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Jilin Connell Group,

aimed at providing U.S. Gulf Coast aniline supply for growth in our Polyurethanes business. Jilin

Connell Group, a privately-held company, was formed in 1991. Its subsidiary, Jilin Connell Chemical

Company (Jilin Connell), is the top merchant aniline producer and distribu

ounced e



First Plants of BASF-YPC Expansion in Nanjing, Ch

ionic

surf

ring. The bulk of the remaining plants are

xpected to come on-stream around the end of 2011.

ices, leaving Dow Chemical as the last producer fighting the

clas

. The BASF settlement leaves Dow

hemical as the last producer fighting the price-fixing lawsuit.

iliao, Yunlin County in ccordance with

indu

prawling Mailiao petrochemical complex,

also

ina, Come on Stream

The first production facilities in the

expansion of BASF-YPC Company Limited,

a 50:50 joint venture between BASF and

Sinopec, have begun operations. Along with

the successful completion of the steam

cracker expansion, the newly constructed

butadiene extraction plant and the non-

actants plant are now operational.

These plants are part of a USD 1.4

billion investment project which broke

ground in September 2009. The project

includes the expansion of the existing steam cracker, from 600,000 t/y to 740,000 t/y of ethylene, the

expansion of three existing plants, and the construction of ten new plants. The products of this

second phase will serve multiple industries such as agriculture, construction, electronics,

pharmaceutical, automotive, and chemical manufactu

e

Judge Approves BASF Isocyanate Settlement

HOUSTON--A US judge approved on Monday BASF's proposal to pay $51m (€38m) to settle

allegations that it fixed isocyanates pr

s-action lawsuit.

In settling the case, BASF denied that it fixed prices. Instead, BASF settled the case to avoid the

cost, inconvenience and distractions that would come with prolonging the litigation. The settlement

was approved by the US District Court, district of Kansas

C

Nan Ya Shuts Petrochemical Plant in Yunlin

The Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) has shut down the manufacturing operations of an isononyl

alcohol plant at the group's petrochemical complex in Ma

strial plant safety procedures, as per The China Post.

The isononyl alcohol plant is among the five petrochemical plants of Nan Ya Plastics Corp.

ordered to close for inspection following successive fires on May 12 and 18. Top administrators at

Yunlin County Government were on hand to see the machinery equipment eventually grind to a halt

at the plant, almost two months after the latest fire at the s

known as Taiwan's No. 6 naphtha cracking complex.

The local government agreed to give extra time of two months for Nan Ya Plastics to gradually

wind down the operations for safety reasons as suggested by the company. Executives of the



company had asked for a measured and phased shutdown of the five plants considering the

complicated chemical process. They explained that production at the isononyl alcohol plant was

finally suspended because all the petrochemical materials at the factory were used up and the

quipment was not refilled with new materials.

bdulaziz City for Science and

Tech

sector operators in the country, as part of the Kingdom's national

technology and innovation plan.

● Sa

e

Saudi Arabia Aims to Invest USD 100 Billio

Saudi Arabia aims to invest USD 100 billion

in its petrochemical industry by 2015, and to

increase focus on advanced technologies

associated with the industry, according to Dr

Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, president of

the King A

n in Its Petrochemical Industry By 2015

nology.

Speaking during the Saudi International

Petrochemical Technologies Conference, held in

Riyadh in early June, Dr Al-Suwaiyel said

petrochemical technologies are among 12

strategic technologies that the Kingdom aims to

develop in partnership with private

udi Aramco and Dow to Finalize Details of JV for Petrochemicals Complex in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Co plan to finalize the details of a joint venture to build one of

the world's largest petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia, as per Reuters. The joint venture will

give Dow access to cheap Saudi gas feedstock and proximity to customers in Asia, Africa and

Europe, while Saudi Aramco can execute part of its plan to expand its petrochemical industry and

diversify away from oil alone.

First announced in 2007, the project is expected to get a nod of approval by end of July-early

August, by a committee that will decide on the investment. Location of the project has been changed

from Ras Tanura, in a bid to cut costs and has moved closer to other oil and chemical plants in Jubail,

off the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia.

3. Force Majeure

As Formosa Prepares to Restart, Another Fire Breaks out at Mailiao Petrochemical

Complex

A fire, the eight this year, broke out at a refinery on Tuesday at Formosa Plastics Group (FPG)'s

Mailiao petrochemical complex, that was put out in about 20 minutes, without affecting any

manufacturing equipment, inflicting no harm to any person and posing no other threats. As per the



management, the blaze started when transporting alkylate. Certain amount of alkymer ended up in a

ditch

at alkymer is

part of gasoline, but not toxic and will not release any toxic substance after burning.

nois A

e, and xylene production

cap

it, extracts benzene, toluene,

and

for comment, a Citgo spokesperson said he was not aware

f any force majeure declarations Wednesday.

soil hydrogenation unit, 2-mil-mt/yr

cata tic reformer and 280,000-mt/yr gas fractionation unit, etc.

at the plant because of the leak.

Water and chemical foams were immediately used to contain and snuff out the fire. The incident

occurred when the manufacturing and processing operations at the petrochemical complex were

temporarily closed for inspection and equipment maintenance. FPG executives state th

a

Citgo Delcares Force Majeure at Illi romatics Plant

Citgo has declared force majeure on toluene,

xylene, heptane, special lactolite, and blends containing

these products at their facility in Lemont, Illinois,

sources told Platts Wednesday. The Lemont facility has

a combined benzene, toluen

acity of 6,000 barrels/day

The force majeure was said to be the result of a

shutdown of the plant's boiler unit, which feeds steam to

the UDEX unit, for emergency repairs. The UDEX unit,

also known as the BTX un

xylene from gasoline.

Market participants reported that Citgo is repairing

the boiler unit and aims to get the UDEX unit back

online by the end of June. When reached

o

CNOOC Shuts 2-mil-mt/yr Catalytic Reformer at Huizhou Refinery on Blast

A 2-mil-mt/yr catalytic reformer at CNOOC Huizhou refinery exploded after catching a fire at

4:10 Monday; the fire which has been extinguished by 9:00 caused no death or injury, CNOOC

announced. CNOOC has lowered run rates of some units at the refinery, a refinery source revealed,

adding chemical units of CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals were in normal operations. Whether

Huizhou refinery would go into overall turnaround ahead of scheduled is unknown, which was

expected to start this October. Located in South China’s Guangdong Province, Huizhou refinery is

equipped with a 12-mil-mt/yr crude distillate unit, the largest one in China. It also has 1.2-mil-mt/yr

fluid catalytic cracker, 4.2-mil-mt/yr delayed coker, 4-mil-mt/yr high-pressure hydrocracker,

3.6-mil-mt/yr mid-pressure hydrocracker, 2-mil-mt/yr gasoline/ga

ly



Dow Continues Force Majeure on Cau

de 50% declared last week out of its Freeport,

Tex

0 mt/year Freeport plant

October 4, citing circumstances beyond its control in a letter to customers.

stic Soda Membrane Out of Texas Site

US petrochemical producer Dow Chemical Tuesday

said it continues the force majeure on caustic soda

membrane gra

as, facility.

"In spite of the rumors that were heard in the market

Dow continues its force majeure for caustic soda as

announced on October 4 with an allocation of 7 to 10 days,"

company spokeswoman Amy Ahlich said. Dow initially

declared force majeure at its 500,00

Fire at a PetroChina Subsidiary Dalian Petrochemical

As fire broke out at a major petrochemical refinery in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.

This is the second fire in two months at PetroChina subsidiary Dalian Petrochemical. The fire is

reported to have occurred in a diesel tank containing 800 tons of fuel. The blaze was caused by an

explosion in a pipeline linking two fuel tanks. TAs per another report, the fire was triggered by leak in

a distillation device at the Dalian Petrochemical Company. No one died or was injured in the accident,

which the company said had not caused pollution to the sea or the air. Dalian was the site of China's

biggest known oil spill, when a pipeline explosion put at least 1,500 tons (461,790 gallons) of oil into

the sea in July 2010.

hemical industry zone in Pudong's

Gao

the Gaoqiao oil refinery, which is

affili

se high into the air. The fire might have begun in a coking

nit, according to a refinery spokesman.

2.53 am on Sunday, which was

extin

Fire Sweeps Through Shanghai Gao-Qiao Refinery

FIRE swept through an oil refinery in Shanghai's key c

qiao area late September 23. No casualties was reported.

The blaze was spotted at about 10:27pm in a tower inside

ated to the Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Corp.

Witnesses said they saw flames soon after a loud explosion. Some residents near the factory

said the smell was pungent and smoke ro

u

Formosa President Quits After Another Fire; Mailiao Ordered to Shut Down for Inspection

Two senior Formosa Plastics' executives have resigned following another fire at the company's

giant Mailiao, Taiwan petrochemical complex, on Sunday, the seventh at Mailiao within a year and the

second within a week. Formosa Plastics notified the Taiwan Stock Exchange today that president Su

Chi-yi and Wilfred Wang, chairman of Formosa Petrochemicals have resigned. The resignation came

after the fire at Formosa Plastics' 540,000 bbl/day refinery at 1

guished after two hours. There were no casualties reported.



A Fomosa Plastics manager says that following the Cabinet's request, about 30 plants, just fewer

than half the 66 facilities at the Mailiao idustrial zone, will be suspended. All of Formosa Plastics' four

ajor subsidiaries will be affected. m

Tosoh Shuts all Monomer Plants After Fire at No.2 VCM Plant

Tosoh Corp has shut three vinyl chloride monomer plants at its Nanyo complex in Yamaguchi

prefecture, after a fire at its No 2 VCM plant, as per Reuters. The fire lasted for around a day in which

a male employee is missing.

Tosoh's Nanyo complex has a total annual capacity to produce 1.2 mln tpa - a third of the

nation's total capacity of 3.52 mln tpa.

4. Anti-dumping News from June to December in 2011

An Increase in Number of Anti Dumping Cases Likely as Petrochem Prices Dip in

ident and CEO of

Kuw

ayan will begin

mov

2010, India

imposed a range of antidumping duties on polypropylene producers in the Middle East.

.

Global Major MDI Manufacturers' Capacity & Capacity Involved in This Anti-Du

Manufacturer MDI Capacity (Excluding MDI Splitter Facility)

lved in

Investigation

2012

Lowering of petrochemical prices in 2012 could see a spate of antidumping proposals initiated

against petrochemical producers in the Middle East, as per Hamad Al Terkait, Pres

ait Equate Petrochemical Company ahead of the GPCA meet, as per Platts.

2012 is likely to see strong competition between producers in the Middle East and Asia as

products from newly started up plants hit the

complexes like Saudi K

Asian markets. At the same time, products from new

ing into the markets.

Over the past year, producers in the

Middle East have been the target of

antidumping penalties from several

countries, including India and Turkey. In

2010, Turkey levied an antidumping duty

of 6% on monoethylene glycol imports

from Equate and Sabic, and another

antidumping fee of 20% on imports from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile in November of

Brazil Initiates Anti-Dumping Investigation on Crude MDI

PUdaily, Shanghai-On June 8, 2011, Brazil Ministry of Development Industry and Foreign Trade

announced to initiate anti-dumping investigation on Crude MDI from America, Belgium and China

mping (Unit: 10KT)

Capacity InvoLeading

BASF Belgium:56, America:29, China:12, South Korea: 97



rBayer

6, Spain:15, America:30, China:35, BGermany:3

4.5, 65

Japan:13

Dow Portugal&Germany:28, America:34 34

Huntsman Netherlands:40, America:45, China:12 57

Yantai Wanhua Hungary:18, China: 80 80

China Practices Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty to Imported Off-Road

o

m December 15,

201

rvailing duties are varied

from 0% to 12.9%.

visional antidumping duty rates on US imports of viny

acet

yondellBasell Acetyls and 13.8% against Dow

Che

ker Chemie. The two companies represent more than 25% of

the

material injury suffered by

the

he investigation period covered October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.

Vehicle and Sedans from America

f the People’s Republic of China, on December

14, 2011, released its Announcement No. 84,

deciding to levy antidumping and countervailing

duties on imported off-Road vehicle and sedans

(exhausting volume higher than 2.5 liter)

originated from the USA fro

PUdaily, Shanghai-The Ministry of Commerce

1 to December 14, 2013.

According to the Announcement, the

anti-dumping rates are ranged from 2.0% to

21.5% while counte

EU Imposes Provisional Antidumping Duty on US Vinyl Acetate Imports

The European Union has imposed pro

ate, it said in a statement Wednesday.

The duties, which are due to take effect Thursday and apply for a period of six months, have

been set at 12.1% against Celanese, 13% against L

mical and any other US vinyl-acetate producers.

The EU said the move aims "to re-establish a fair level playing field" in the EU market for vinyl

acetate following a complaint lodged on October 22, 2010 by the UK's Ineos Oxide, which was

supported by German company Wac

total EU output of vinyl acetate.

Analysis of the effects of all known factors on the situation [the EU] provisionally concluded that

there is a causal link between the dumped imports from the USA and the

Union industry during the investigation period," the EU said.

T



ina and

chem

Duty on

Res

effective from July 22, 2006 to July 22, 2011.

res, like

anti-

hina's electric wire, steel, textile and clothing products and other

prod cts are under investigation.

yl Chloride Paste Resin) from China, Japan, South Korea,

Malaysia, Russia, Taiwan and Thailand.

merica and EU. This decision shall

enter into force since from May 10, 2011 with period of 5 years.

announced to

initiate anti-dumping investigation on Crude MDI from America, Belgium and China.

ti-dumping Measures against Spandex Imports from

Japa

Events Focus: Anti-Dumping Roads in 20

PUdaily, Shanghai-In recent years, more

and more chemical enterprises suffer from

anti-dumping from other countries when

exporting. Meanwhile, large amounts of

foreign products are dumped into Ch

11

ical industry is of worst-hit area.

ⅰChina Imposes Anti-dumping

in Origin from Japan and Taiwan

On January, 22, 2011, China decided to

levy anti-dumping rates for the imported PBT

resin from Japan and Taiwan areas. It will be

ⅱ Indonesia Imposes Anti-dumping Duty on China's Textile and Clothing

April 12, 2011, Indonesia government began to carry out all kinds of protection measu

dumping duty to avoid Chinese low-priced commodities swarming into the local market.

According to Mari Elka Pangestu, Trade Minister of Indonesia, for the moment, Indonesia has

imposed anti-dumping duties on C

u

ⅲIndia Publishes Anti-Dumping Investigation on PVC From China

On April 21, 2011, Indian Ministry of Commerce & Industry released the anti-dumping

investigation on imports of PVC (Poly Vin

ⅳChina Continues to Impose Anti-dumping Duty on Imported Chloroprene Rubber

On May 9, 2011, China Commercial Ministry issued review decision to continue to impose

anti-dumping duty on chloroprene rubber imports from Japan, A

ⅴ Brazil Initiates Anti-Dumping Investigation on Crude MDI

On June 8, 2011, Brazil Ministry of Development Industry and Foreign Trade

ⅵ MOFCOM to Start Final Review on An

n, Singapore, ROK, Taiwan and the U.S.



MOFCOM released announcement on October 13, 2011, deciding to start final review on

anti-dumping measures against spandex imports from Japan, Singapore, ROK, Taiwan and the U.S.

According to the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Anti-dumping, spandex

imports from the said country and region will continue to be levied anti-dumping duties in accordance

with

The imports subject to final review, which shall be completed before October 13, 2012, is the

agreement in previously held bilateral

neg

istry of Finance, Department of Revenue stated

at the duty tariff will be levied for a period of five years from the start of the provisional anti-dumping

m South Korea

rea now

incu

estigation had found that the domestic industry

to th

t date unless revoked,

the anti-dumping tax scope and tax rate as released in MOFCOM Announcement No. 74 of 2006,

No. 39 of 2008, No. 68 of 2008, and No. 6 of 2010.

same as that subject to anti-dumping investigation.

India and Saudi Arabia to Resume Talks on PP Anti-Dumping Levies

Saudi Arabia and India plan to resume talks in

September to discuss lifting of an anti-dumping levy

imposed on the kingdom's polypropylene (PP) exports.

Failure to reach an

otiations has attached increased importance to the

next round of talks.

India decided on anti-dumping duties on PP imports

from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Singapore. A notification by

India's Min

th

duty imposed by the government on 30 July 2009.

India Imposes Antidumping Duties on Caustic Soda fro

The Indian government has imposed antidumping duties on caustic soda imported and

originating from South Korea that came into effect on Monday.

Caustic soda lye and caustic soda solid/flakes exported and originating from South Ko

r an antidumping duty of $366/dry mt. The duty will be levied until December 25, 2013, and is

payable in Indian currency, the customs department sa

A department inv

id in a notification issued October 3.

had suffered material injury due

e dumping of caustic soda from South Korea,

the notification said.

The Indian government on August 23 imposed

antidumping duties of $379/ dry mt on caustic soda

from Thailand and Norway and $361/dry mt on

caustic soda from Taiwan. Those duties will be

levied for five years from tha

superseded or amended earlier, and are also

payable in Indian currency.



e to be levied anti-dumping duties in accordance

w

10.

The imports subject to final review, which shall be completed before October 13, 2012, is the same

MOFCOM to Start Final Review on Anti-dumping Measures against Spandex

Imports from Japan, Singapore, ROK, Taiwan and the U.S.

MOFCOM released announcement on October 13, 2011, deciding to start final review on

anti-dumping measures against spandex imports from Japan, Singapore, ROK, Taiwan and the U.S.

According to the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Anti-dumping, spandex

imports from the said country and region will continu

ith the anti-dumping tax scope and tax rate as released in MOFCOM Announcement No. 74 of 2006,

No. 39 of 2008, No. 68 of 2008, and No. 6 of 20

as that subject to anti-dumping investigation.

5. D

rupt?

e most

r

ave severe shortage and 25% enterprises

dare

ffer from the half work suspension. However, Federation of Industry

and

is in 2008. Currently, such enterprises encounter five living pressures: labor shortage,

salary increase tide, appreciation of the RMB, energy saving & emission reduction and structural

ocked by

water-based paints with shrinking market sizes and shares. Besides, the newly-emerged coating

prod lvent-free coatings.

ownstream Industries Dynamics in Polyurethane Field

Will 20% Shoes and Clothes Enterprises in Wenzhou Go Bank

PUdaily, Shanghai-Luwan District is th

middle & small sized shoes and clothes ente

developed region in Wenzhou, Zhejiang and many

prises concentrate here.

According to Economy and Trade Bureau in

Luwan District, 74.5% enterprises are faced with the

shortage of labor. Among which, shoes, clothes,

glasses, lighter, lockset and other labor-intensive

industries h

not to accept the orders due to insufficient

production.

Zhou Dewen told the reporter, "At present, about

20% enterprises in Wenzhou su

Commerce claims that about twenty percent of the companies close down. It seems to be more

serious than my investigation."

"The shoes and clothes enterprises in Wenzhou are faced with more difficulties than the period

of financial cris

adjustment.

Economy Rebounds May Push Forward America Coating Market

PUdaily, Shanghai-According to latest reports for coating market, America's demands for coating

and painting products will march on with an annual growth rate of 3.1%.

Meanwhile, the traditional solvent-based coating products will be continuously sh

ucts also include high-solid coatings, power coatings and other so



ⅰ Real Estate Industry Pulls Up Demands for Building Materials

As the biggest consumption sector with largest share in the coating market, building coating

demands account for almost 50% of the total amounts, and thus America's real estate and residence

indu

arket will rebound before 2012 and this will promote

the building coating market obviously as well.

w materials will increase and this will definitely

nds for Other Building Coatings Ascend

Cea

automotive coatings will mount up

acc

production quantities of metal building materials

coat

dge industries in

America, demands for corrosion proof and special coatings will blossom to match.

urrently, domestic coat

pres

et, the coating quality has jagged

standards.

ⅱ Increasing Requires from Consumers

stries play a vital role on the coating market.

It is predicted that America's real estate m

ⅱ Demands from Interior Wall Decoration Sector Will Augment

The data also shows that demands for coating from interior wall decoration sector will exceed

that from outer wall field. Additionally, as coatings used in outer wall field will be gradually restricted

by the newly emerging materials, the application of ne

lift growth of coating demands from outer wall field.

ⅲ Dema

selessly

Along with the global revival of automobile industry,

demands for

ordingly.

As a rapidly developed industry, metal processing

and surface treatment will also propel America's

ings.

Lastly but not the least, coupled with the fast developed freeway, railway and bri

Four Reasons on China Impotent Coating Market

PUdaily, Shanghai-Since this year, building materials enterprises suffer huge pressures along

with the publishment of a series of real estate policy and continuously increasing prices of raw

materials. Consequently, consumers' purchasing power drops as well as the sales volumes of

building raw materials. C ing industry in home building materials market

ents to be in frigidity.

ⅰStandard Shortage in Coating Market

Selecting coating, majority people care about

most is the environmental protection problems while in

current mark



In the former years, consumers paied more attention to the product quality, durability and price

when purchasing building materials while coupled with the developing new types of building materials,

coatings fail to satisfy consumers' requires for wall surfacing decoration. Hence, fashionable

wallpaper becomes the tide while according to coating suppliers; the popularization of this soft

decoration material still needs a long time.

Besides, some famous coating companies claim they have launched the wallpaper planning

project to meet consumers' improving demands on wall surfacing decoration in terms of price, quality

and even taste, sense of art and decorations convenience.

ⅲ Erosion of Big-brand Wallpaper

Coupled with the establishment of high-end brands of ROEN and Power Dekor, more and more

consumers begin to purchase specific wallpaper.

ⅳ Ascending Market Prices of Raw Materials

As oil is the feedstock of coatings, the price hike of oil influences coating prices directly while

according to insiders from leading coating companies, domestic famous coating enterprises can

afford to the price fluctuation of raw materials and their prices regulation is planned.

However, as for the coatings used in engineering building, the prices will be revised up due to

the low pricing and small profits.

Japan Facing Rubber, Polypropylene Shortage on Rising Automobile Output

Japanese automakers are set to increase their production between October 2011 and March

2012, the Nikkei reported Monday.

Japanese tire maker Bridgestone has notified automakers that orders for passenger car tires will

likely exceed its domestic output capacity, the Nikkei said. The company is expected to face a

shortage of an estimated 500,000 tires, or

roughly 5% of orders received, this year.

Bridgestone's seven domestic plants

making passenger car tires are operating

around the clock and have no room to raise

output. Procuring tires from plants overseas

appears to be difficult due to strong demand

there, the Nikkei said.

Japan Polypropylene is having trouble

keeping up with demand for PP. Inventories are running low at its 640,000 mt/year PP plant in

Kashima, which shut down for about two months following the March 11 earthquake. In addition,

regular maintenance is scheduled at the plant from the end of this month through mid-October, the

Japan's leading financial daily said.



PP is a main feedstock to produce autoparts and bumpers

Toyota Motor and seven other major manufacturers of passenger cars project a 2% year-on-year

increase in global output in the six months to end-March 2012, with major hikes planned in Japan.

Ningbo Has Exported 1551000 Pairs of Leather Shoes to EU from January to

October

PUdaily.Shanghai-According to Ningbo

Custom, from January to October Ningbo has

exported 1551000 pairs of leather shoes to EU,

38.4% more than last year. The total value is 13.67

million dollars, with an 86.9% increase year on

year. The export volume to EU accounts for 25.1%

of the total.

Output of Spandex in China

Increased By 22.8pct Year-on-Year to

274,000 Tons in 2010

Driven by the recovery of textile industry, spandex industry of China saw boom in both

production and sales in 2010, with the apparent consumption hitting 259,000 tons, up 18.1%

year-on-year. Meanwhile, the output of spandex increased by 22.8% year-on-year to 274,000 tons,

with the industrial operating rate soaring to 74.2%.

And the spandex capacity rose by 9.8% year-on-year to 369,600 tons, an increase of 33,000

tons. It can be seen that the growth in demand and output was far ahead of the growth in capacity.

However, some 27,000 tons of new spandex capacity had been put into operation as of May 2011,

with the annually increased capacity expecting to surpass 100,000 tons.

In 2010, the spandex industry of China maintained high-speed growth, leading to domestic

heavyweights to make intensified investment grasping market shares, thus accelerated the

improvement of industrial concentration.

In 2010, the top 10 spandex manufacturers in China made up 75.8% of the total capacity, up 2.1

percentage points comparing to that in 2009. And it is

estimated that the industrial concentration in upcoming

years will see further improvement.

In 2010, foreign companies registered 20.8% in the

spandex market of China in terms of capacity. Moreover,

they are still accelerating the layout in Chinese spandex

market by virtue of strength in economy and technology.

A case in point was the phase IV project of Hyosung´s

Zhuhai plant, which was put into operation in May 2010.



With the spandex capacity totaling 46,000 tons/year, Hyosung China became the largest spandex

manufacturer in China in 2010.

In April 2011, with the 12,500 tons/year phase II project of Invista Foshan put into operation, the

total spandex capacity of Invista China hit 41,000 tons/year.

Compared with foreign companies, China-based spandex manufacturers expand their capacity

more rapidly, with the capacity proportion of the domestic top 5 spandex producers totaling 42.5% in

2010, up 2.5 percentage points over 2009.

Meanwhile, major domestic spandex enterprises are accelerating their steps to realize

function-oriented differentiated development so as to improve their profitability. For example, Huafon

Spandex and Yantai Spandex realized the product differentiation rate above 50%.

Huafon Spandex´s 15,000-ton high-temperature resistant thin fabric spandex project with the

investment of RMB480 million is under construction, expecting to be put into operation in July 2011,

by then, the company will achieve a product differentiation rate over 60%, and regain the status as

China´s largest spandex manufacturer from Hyosung.

In 2010, the capacity of Yantai Spandex hit 27,000 tons, including 5,000 tons of increased

capacity for medical use. Additionally, there is 7,000-ton comfort spandex capacity under

construction expected to be put into operation in June 2011. By then, the product differentiation rate

of the company is estimated to realize 60%, approximately.

Values of Shoes Exports in Fujian Reached to US$ 5.89 Billion In the First Eight Months

PUdaily, Shanghai-Updated statistics from Fuzhou Customs indicate that in the first eight

months, the foreign trade volumes has totaled US$ 88.03 billion, up 27.3% compared with the same

period of last year.

Among which, imports reached to US$31.11 billion, up 32.6%

year-on-year (YOY) while exports came to US$56.92 billion, up

24.5% YOY.

Most traditional commodities keep robust trends in exports.

Take the following commodities for example: Export of textile

clothes was valued at US$10.87 billion, up 44.6% YOY; Export of

shoes was valued at US$ 5.89 billion, up 28.4% YOY; Export of

bags was valued at US$1.54 billion, up 29.4% YOY.

Among the imports commodities, primary commodities are kept

rapid growth with imports being valued at US$9.79 billion, up 58.9%

from the same period of last year.

Will Spandex Market Bounce off from the Bottom?

PUdaily, Shanghai-Since the beginning of this year, the market price of spandex has been in the

downtrend. Currently, the 20D spandex products are quoted at RMB65000/ton, down by




RMB17000/ton compared with the early year and totally drop by 20.7%; the 40D spandex products

are offered at RMB46500/ton, declines by RMB15500/ton (down by 25%) compared with the early

year.

Thereby, will the later spandex market bounce off from the bottom? The writer deems the

possibility is increasing step by step.

ⅰThe money-losing enterprises begin to stabilize the price.

Along with the downslide of spandex products in prices, many spandex suppliers choose to

stand on the sidelines and stabilize the market price. Meanwhile, the price of cotton yarn tends to be

stable and terylene market begins to rebound, thereby, lots of spandex traders and weaving mills

seem to touch the bottom of the price.

ⅱ Upstream feedstock gives certain supports.

As for raw materials, pure MDI, PTMEG and BDO markets present to be different trends.

Although the price of pure MDI is revised down, PTMEG market quotations stay firmly at high levels.

Besides, BDO market price begins to rebound. Therefore, the declining space of spandex market is

limited.

ⅲ Market supplies tend to be tight.

Since this year, some spandex traders and dealers hold bearish sentiments and thus they have

low inventories. Besides, along with the restriction of the electricity and poor profits, most spandex

plants begin to reduce production or even shut down. If downstream demands recover in later period,

the market will be in short supply.

To sum up, spandex quotation has no improvement recently but along with high upstream sales

prices and decreasing supplies, it is predicted that the spandex price is expected to rebound after

touching the bottom.

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