The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) released its White Paper on International Economy and Trade 2018 at a cabinet meeting on July 10. The new report sets aside...
china
BASF Moves Step Closer to Second Verbund Site in China
BASF SE has begun looking into the construction of a $10 billion self-funded chemical plant complex in Guangdong Province, China. The complex would make use of the German-based chemical firm’s...
Nissan Chemical Bolsters Chinese Business for Display Materials
Nissan Chemical Corp. (TYO:4021) is working to strengthen its business for display materials in China. As part of this, the company last July established Nissan Chemical Materials Research (Suzhou) Co....
Sumitomo Chemical to Manufacture OLED Modules in China
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) is set to launch production of OLED panel modules in China. The company is preparing to supply panel manufacturers with modules that integrate a touch...
China Moves to Save Blue Sky With New Air Pollution Battle Plan
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China has put together a new set of measures against air pollution, coming in the form of a three-year action plan toward...
Sinochem, ChemChina Appear Set for Merger
Two major state-owned chemical companies in China appear to be on course for a merger. While both Sinochem Group Co. Ltd. and China National Chemical Corp., commonly known as ChemChina,...
Sanyo Chemical Aims to Bolster Biomedical Operations
Sanyo Chemical Industries Ltd. (TYO:4471) is aiming to strengthen sales promotion efforts for its biomedical products. The company deploys a range of products in the field both domestically and overseas....
Asian Caprolactam Prices Hinge on Chinese Operations
The Asian market for caprolactam has somewhat stabilized. While export prices for the chemical recently entered a temporary adjustment period following a continued rise, a returned upward trend from mid-May...
Asahi Kasei Focuses in on Strategy of Added Value for POM Business
Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) is accelerating a strategy to add value to its polyacetal (POM) operations. Asahi Kasei is the world’s only POM manufacturer to deal in both homopolymers with...
Polyplastics to Ramp up POM, PPS Production in Malaysia
Polyplastics Co. Ltd. is set to expand compounding capacity at its Malaysian plant. The two new compounding lines — one for polyacetal (POM) and the other for polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)...
Sinopec E-Commerce Site Hits 300B Yuan in Cumulative Trade
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. – commonly known as Sinopec – has broken through the 300 billion yuan ($46.53 billion) barrier in cumulative trade with epec.com, one of the largest...
Kureha Targets Higher Chinese Sales of PVDF for Automotive LiB Binders
Kureha Corp. (TYO:4023) is planning to grow its sales of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a material used in automotive lithium-ion secondary batteries (LiBs), in China – the world’s largest electric vehicle...
Polyplastics Moves to Redouble Efforts Around Automotive POM
Polyplastics Co. Ltd. is making moves to strengthen its operations for new grades of polyacetal (POM). One such grade developed by the company specializes in having low volatile organic compound...
China Pingmei Shenma Group Looks to Establish Polyamide Chain in Henan Province
Major Chinese state-owned enterprise China Pingmei Shenma Group is looking to build a production base for polyamides in Pingdingshan, Henan Province, China. The plan here is to invest roughly 20...
Showa Denko Looks to Grow Business for LiB Anode Materials, Conductive Agents
Showa Denko KK (TYO:4004) is looking to expand its business for lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) materials, placing anode materials and conductive agents at the core of this plan. The company...
Needle Coke Prices Continue to Rise
International market prices for needle coke are maintaining an upward trend. This is being driven by strong demand for graphite electrodes – which are used to make electric furnace steel...
Asahi Kasei Aims to Bolster Sales of Automotive Engineering Plastics in Europe, China
Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) is looking to bolster sales of its engineering plastics to foreign-owned automakers. In a move to develop its automotive-related business in Europe, Asahi Kasei established its...
Covestro Moves to Strengthen Status as Global Leader in Polycarbonates
Covestro AG is moving forward with structural transformations as it looks to solidify its position as a world leader in polycarbonate (PC) materials. Michelle Jou, president of Covestro’s polycarbonates segment,...
Tightrope Dance Continues for Asian Supply and Demand of Caustic Soda
The supply–demand balance for caustic soda is standing tight in Asia. Demand in Southeast Asia came in at an estimated 2.7 million tons for 2017. By application, demand was particularly...
Japan Stands With Good Odds to Dominate Organic EL Sector
With its next-generation technology, Japan stands a reasonable chance of winning the race to dominate the promising organic electroluminescence (EL) market. This situation was brought to light by the Japan...
